


Wreck it Freddy's 3

by Kapra90



Series: Wreck it Freddy's Series [3]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's, Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 04:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4773743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kapra90/pseuds/Kapra90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Ralph, Vanellope and the group recovers from their last showdown against Phone Guy, the animatronics try to assimilate into their new life by helping to set up a haunted house attraction while their game upgrades. But when something goes horribly wrong and their lives are once again at risk, will the evil force behind it all finally achieve their revenge? Co-written by Dixie Darlin from FFN.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Making Preparations

The sun slowly rose above the horizon line for the oncoming morning, splattering warm colors across the sky as dawn passed. Inside the great castle of Sugar Rush, a low light leaked into the bedroom of a familiar princess- well, president, rather- as she currently slumbered peacefully in her bed, snuggled up to a small cupcake plush. As she shifted a bit, a shadow began to advance slowly, closer and closer to her, a pair of eyes reflected in the low light upon the unsuspecting ruler. The figure cloaked in shadow came within inches of her, reaching out a hand of painted metal that hovered just over her neck... it was so close, its face just an inch from hers, ready to strike.

"Hello."

The voice of BB broke the thick silence in the room, the outstretched hand placing itself down on Vanellope's shoulder gently to wake her. Vanellope groaned lightly, her eyes fluttering open as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of them.

"Wow, you're up early…" The little girl yawned as she stretched her arms upwards. Her eyes popped open then as realization hit her. "Oh yeah!" She yelled as she leaped out of bed. "Today's the day we test-run our haunted house!"

"Hi." BB simply said with a smile, his vocabulary extremely limited despite having a lot to say.

"Yeah yeah, I'm hurrying," Vanellope told him as she hurried to put her shoes on. "Come on, let's go get Ralphie!" She took her friend by the hand and practically dragged him out of her room and out of the castle, spooking Sour Bill who had been dusting some things in the hallway.

They entered Game Central Station only to find that Ralph was actually waiting on THEM for once.

"Wow, kid, ever hear of an alarm?" Ralph smiled crookedly as he simultaneously rubbed the tops of the kids' heads. "Normally I'M the one you have to pounce awake on Closing Day."

"Guess I was tuckered out from all the work we've been doing," Vanellope shrugged as she hugged Ralph's leg briefly. "I bet the others are waiting inside the game for us, let's go!"

Ralph chuckled as the kids skipped ahead of him, shaking his head. Litwak had upgraded the existing Five Nights at Freddy's 2 cabinet to also include the THIRD release. Thankfully, they had learned their lesson about barging into the game unprepared and getting trapped there for hours on end, so there was no nightmarish visit that time around.

"Good idea you had about turning it into a haunted house attraction," Ralph commented as they neared the game.

"Yeah, hopefully this will help everyone in the arcade realize that BB and his friends aren't going to hurt anyone," Vanellope replied back, throwing a friendly arm over BB's shoulder.

"Hello," BB called out to Jeremy, the security guard from the second game. His uniform was loosely untucked as it was his off-day and he wanted to be comfortable, his ball cap on backwards and was steadily drinking a soda from Burger Time.

"What did he say?" Jeremy asked Vanellope, not able to decipher the boy's vocabulary. He COULD have learned how like Vanellope and her friends had, but he just didn't care enough.

"Uh, he said 'hey, what's up?'" The candy-haired president giggled.

"Ah." he answered in a way that implied that he didn't really care. "Well you clowns have fun in your little spook-fest, I've got whole day of fun and relaxation planned for me. I saw Mike on my way out of Burger Time so he should be in already."

"Wow, MIKE woke up before me? That's embarrassing!" Vanellope gawked in disbelief.

Jeremy shrugged. "Guess he was antsy to get started. Anyways, see you, I'll be in Extreme EZ Livin' if you need me." Jeremy told them as he gave them a two-fingered salute, heading off.

Calhoun was on her walkie talkie, giving directions as the group headed into the game. Being Litwak still had the game under maintenance, it was free for the characters to walk in and out as they pleased with little worry of gameplay related dangers.

"Felix, move that file a bit to the left. Okay... perfect. Hey, be careful with that Markowski! You break that and I'll break your face!" She shouted.

BB approached Foxy, hugging his leg as he was adjusting a likeness of his head on the wall, a toothy grin stretching his features. He looked down at BB, patting his head and turning to greet Ralph and Vanellope.

"Looking good, Foxy!" Vanellope gave him a thumbs up. "This is gonna be great when all the other characters see!"

"Hey Calhoun, is Bobby here yet?" Ralph asked, rolling his eyes when she held her finger up as she listened to her walkie.

"So just improvise Felix, use some of the older files!" She snapped.

"Yes, ma'am!" Felix's voice came over the walkie, and Ralph could almost imagine him saluting her with his typical lovesick grin.

The wrecker cleared his throat when Calhoun put her authoritative finger down. "As I was saying, is Bo-"

"I have Dunderson distracted with the audio system." She answered him without even looking at him. "Chica, put that box of masks in that corner there!"

Ralph blew an annoyed breath out. "O-kay, guess I'll find him myself." He turned around only to be met with a grinning, toothy smile framed by a five o'clock shadow. "Ahhh!"

"Whoa, don't wreck me, bromigo!" Bobby pretended to cringe in horror as he hid beneath a pair of raised hands. "Dude, I'm so glad you're here, the Boss Lady is seriously suckin' the fun out of this!" He then whined with a humorously exaggerated pout.

"If you want an operation to work, you HAVE to be serious," Calhoun growled at him, always having been annoyed with the truly hobo-ish man. "Considering what game we're in, the less goofing off, the better."

"Chill out, sarge! I've had my fair share of experience in the audio tech department; how else could we have awesome party times in EZ Livin' if we've got no tunes to groove to?" Bobby laughed. "People will feel oh so secure when they hear my smooth voice over the intercom, and then when the scary stuff starts, the only thing that'll be dancing is their pants!"

"Hey Ralph, where are all the toy animatronics?" Vanellope asked.

"Oh, it was their turn to go to the ANON meeting today, they were helping out yesterday." He replied.

"Maybe all the other characters won't hate them so much once we get this joint up and running, huh?" Vanellope smiled.

BB's eyes closed halfway to give him a sad expression. "Hi."

Vanellope sighed as she patted BB's shoulder. "Don't worry, BB, if people are still diaper babies to you after THIS, then who needs them?"

"Yeah, you got US and we're way cooler." They heard Mike say as he came into the room, wiping his brow. He chuckled when the kids ran to hug him. "Bonnie and I were trying to pry away these boards that are nailed to that second door in the back, but they wouldn't budge."

Ralph smirked and cracked his knuckles, not needing to say anything to get the message across.

"There's probably nothing but black space behind it anyway." Calhoun brought up. "The first door was where the code vault was hidden and that's all we need to be concerned with for now."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to open the place up a bit more, huh?" Ralph said, going over to the sealed room to pry off the plywood. He had pulled the nails about halfway out of the wall when he heard his name being called, glancing behind him.

"Ralph, the ghost children are here!" Vanellope smiled as the five ghost children approached, smiling silently as they waved.

"Oh hey kids!" Ralph grinned at them, the little ghosts surrounding his legs like puppies for a group hug. "Y'know, a long time ago, I never would've guessed that everyone in this franchise was so huggable."

"Right, hopefully everyone else will think so too." Vanellope giggled as one ghost came over to hold her hand shyly.

"AUDIO CHECK!" Bobby's loud voice resonated throughout the game, causing the younger ones to press their hands to their ears.

"Why did we invite him?" Calhoun grumbled as she massaged her brow.

Some static crackled from the speakers before everybody heard the iconic "Hello, hello?" that was in every single game, belonging to the infamous Phone Guy. The little ghost children spooked before they all clamored to hide behind Ralph's legs, all of them hugging each other and shaking. Their eyes widened, growing quite large with fright.

"Hey, you're freaking them out, tone the volume down!" Ralph yelled back at Bobby from where he was.

"Hehe, sorry bros, but that's the whole point of a haunted house, isn't it?" He asked over the intercom. "Glad to know everyone can hear my suave voice loud and clear!"

"Yeah, yeah, now get down here and help Freddy with the lighting, his fingers are too big to snake the wiring!" Calhoun shouted.

"Aye aye, captain!" Bobby announced before heading out of the back room, whistling to himself.

"That's SERGEANT to you!" Calhoun barked at him as he strolled away, her fists reaching out to pantomime strangle him. "If he were one of my soldiers, I'd lock him in the brig for about a week then make him run laps around the tower 'til he dropped."

"What do you expect from a guy who never had a chance to be an active character in his own game?" Mike pointed out as he scratched his head under his cap. "I can't imagine coming to life only to find out that you aren't even needed because you were supposed to have been deleted, or something like that. The guy literally has no concept of responsibility thanks to that."

Calhoun pondered on that, but didn't comment further. Foxy then broke the silence with a few wordless grumbles.

"Yeah, I was wondering that too." Calhoun nodded as she listened. "Why exactly did this game need so much maintenance done? I haven't come across anything suspicious since we entered this particular establishment. Seems kinda boring." She scoffed as she dully observed some colored children's drawings taped crookedly to the wall.

"Because they're upgrading it silly!" Vanellope beamed. "And from what I heard, there's gonna be only one animatronic, so it won't be so crazy this time!"

"Sure is taking a long time to upgrade though..." Calhoun said warily.

"I don't see how this game could be, well, difficult with only one animatronic." Mike had to admit. "Considering that Jeremy's game has, what, eleven, twelve?"

"Where IS this 'one animatronic' anyway?" Ralph asked as he looked around the room.

"Hello."

"No one knows?" The wrecker repeated with a quizzical expression. "That's a little worrisome."

"Maybe he's hiding around here somewhere and waiting to scare someone's pants off. I would love to see Jeremy get spooked!" Vanellope snickered behind her hand.

"I would pay to see that." Mike laughed gently. He and Jeremy were friends now, but he still got a kick at anything that was considered a prank towards the more serious guard.

Sometime later, the group gathered to look around the place, nodding to themselves. "Well, it's scary enough for sure…" Felix said, wiping his brow. He had joined the group after he had finished fiddling around in the code room.

"Alright then… let's grab a bite from Burger Time and then start getting ready for everyone to line up!" Calhoun said, everyone heading out.

Once there, they all sat in one of the larger booths, and were all happily surprised to see a familiar face serving their food and drinks.

"Hey, it's Toy Chica!" Vanellope beamed, waving to the shiny animatronic.

"Oh, heh heh… hello… Chica…" Felix waved nervously; the Chica animatronics still made him a bit uneasy because of their resemblance to ducks. "Felix, just remember; Chica's a chicken. Not a duck. NOT a duck." He muttered to himself under his breath.

"Congrats on the new job!" Ralph said, giving her a thumbs up. "I'm glad Clyde was able to help you out."

Toy Chica gave a nod. "Let's Eat!" She said enthusiastically.

At that, Ralph raised his brows in surprise, Vanellope giggling as he mouth hung open. "Are you serious? Ralph, you have GOT to bust Clyde's chops about this one!"

Jeremy groaned. "I'm sorry, I still can't understand what the hell they mean when they say their catchphrase-"

"I'm really happy for both of you, Toy Chica. I… had no idea you and Clyde had gotten so close…" Ralph smiled.

Toy Chica giggled, waving at them before sashaying back towards the kitchen area.

"Wait wait wait," Jeremy waved his hands in front of him. "The chicken with the figure-8 profile, creepy as that sounds, gets a date and yet I'M still single? What's that all about?"

"It'd help if you weren't so grumpy." Mike joked, poking a finger into his friend's shoulder.

"What do you mean? I am NOT grumpy!" He looked pretty offended, crossing his arms and huffing.

"You're being grumpy right NOW!" Mike laughed.

"No grouchier than I am, gotta admit." Calhoun managed a chuckle. "Or even Wreck-It." She added with a jut of her thumb towards Ralph.

"Hey!" The wrecker feigned being hurt by the remark.

"Whatever, why I agree to eat with you guys, I have no idea." Jeremy rolled his eyes in his typical way.

"Because you love us?" Vanellope giggled, BB joining her from his spot beside her.

"That's a strong word." He grumbled, though deep down he DID have a soft spot for these guys.


	2. Deceiving Appearances

Back at the haunted restaurant attraction, Bobby sipped on some soda, listening to the radio and bobbing his head a bit to the beat. Against Calhoun's wishes, he stayed back by himself to keep an eye on things while the others went to eat so they could start preparing for thrill-seekers to arrive. He crushed the soda can in his hand, aiming for the trash can, but missed when he tossed it.

"Come on, man..." He groaned, belching when he got up to grab the crushed can. As he leaned forward, a black blur sped past Bobby from behind. Bobby raised a brow, turning to glance back, but saw nothing. He craned his neck, tilting his head when he noticed the door to the code room was opened. "Uh... hey, I thought captain killjoy closed this..." He said to himself, shifting his eyes a bit before closing and locking the door. He shrugged it off, plopping back down in the chair. "It's just a haunted house, man... all the spookiness is just in your head, right?" He chuckled to himself as he resumed bobbing his head to the music.

About twenty minutes later, the rest of the group returned, getting everything set up for characters to experience the attraction.

"All right, let's switch this all on and make sure it works before we let civilians in here," Calhoun stated, a hand on her hip. "Wouldn't look good to come into a haunted house that didn't seem haunted."

"People probably expect the worst as it is." Felix frowned.

Vanellope glitched around the place to give confirmation to the others as to whether or not something was working or activated, giving a thumbs up. "Well, seems like this place is ready to go, so positions, everyone!"

"Alright people listen up! Mike, get at your security guard position, Felix, you head outside to usher people in, I'll meet you there! Dunderson! Put that prop down and get to the back room to get ready for your cue! Balloon Boy, you help Vanellope get into makeup and then go to your spot! And..." She looked at faceless Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, and Foxy, glancing at Golden Freddy. "Someone move him..." She pointed to Golden Freddy. "... about five inches left bound."

Foxy stared at Calhoun flatly, walking over to Golden Freddy and doing as she asked. Golden Freddy limply lifted his arm to give her a thumb up.

"Perfect." Calhoun grabbed her walkie talkie to contact her husband. "All right, Felix, you can let them in! Not all at once either, I know how nice you are sometimes."

"Yes m'am!" Felix replied to Calhoun, tucking the walkie in his pocket before addressing the line of characters. "Alright, I'll allow five to enter in two minute intervals, this avoids the problem of overcrowding and-"

"Oh just get on with it already, I want to see if this is going to actually be scary or not." Taffyta cut Felix off before sticking her lollipop back in her mouth.

"I'LL be the true judge of that." Gloyd said with a puffed out chest. "I'm the Halloween prince, y'know, so obviously I'll be the scariness-expert."

"Jiminy jaminy," Felix muttered, wiping his hand down his face. "Just keep to the right and don't wander off the path we have marked."

As characters began to file in, Bobby turned on the audio player.

"Hey, hey! Glad you could make it! I promise, this place is going to be pretty interesting! We found some CRAZY relics over the weekend... we're tracking them down right now. So, let me just give you an update real quick, then you can get to work. Like, the attraction opens in like, a week, so we had to make sure everything works, and nothing catches on fire! Uh... when the place opens, people will come in at the office and into the building, and work their way towards you, past you and out the exit. Uh... yeah. You've officially become a part of the attraction! You'll be starring as... the security guard! So not only will you be monitoring people on the cameras they pass through, you know, to make sure no one steals anything or makes out in the corner, but you'll also be a part of the show!"

"It would be nice if this 'show' could actually start, or are we going to listen to this knuckle head blabber all day?" Gene huffed.

"Shh! Listen to the nice man on the intercom, Gene." Mary replied.

Bobby rolled his eyes in the audio booth, chuckling to himself as he continued the prerecorded message from the game files. "Okay, so let me tell you about what's new. We found another set of drawings, always nice, and a Foxy head! We think it's authentic, then it might just be another crappy cosplay... and we found a desk fan, very old. Metal though, so watch your fingers! Right now the place is basically just... you know, flashing lights, spooky props. Okay, keep an eye on things, and we'll try to have something new for you tomorrow night!"

Bobby leaned forward, clearing his throat before speaking. "Well, you heard it, ladies n' gents! Proceed along the dotted line, try not to pee your pants and have a spooktacular evening, bromigos!"

"Tomorrow night?" Candlehead tilted her head in confusion. "So we came here and waited for nothing!"

"Fine with me." Gene grumbled but Mary nudged him to keep him quiet.

"I think they just meant there will be new stuff tomorrow, but we can still look NOW." Gloyd said.

"You guys, that Bobby guy said we can go now, didn't you hear? Come on, let's get this over with." Taffyta said, rolling her eyes.

Calhoun groaned from her position where she could keep watch. The group followed the aforementioned dotted line that Bobby had told them about, glancing about at the various decorations.

In the back, Vanellope's eyes were closed as BB gently applied makeup to her face; she was supposed to look like "Balloon Girl," and she opened her eyes when he finished. "So, how do I look?" She grinned, putting a hat on her head similar to his in style, but it was pink.

"Hi."

"Well, ga-doy, I know I don't look EXACTLY like Balloon Girl, but is it close enough?"

"Hello." He gave her a thumbs up.

"Okay then!" Vanellope giggled as she ran to her place. She snickered as she saw Taffyta among the group.

Taffyta whined. "Ugh, this is so lame. Ooo, blinking lights, spooky props... I could be polishing my kart right now, but no, I'm stuck in this-"

Vanellope and BB jumped out then, hissing together and grinning widely, putting on their best scary face. The group of sugar rush raced jumped back and screamed, Taffyta even being caught off guard. Vanellope slapped her knee as she laughed at then, catching her breath. "I SO got you guys!"

Taffyta had thrown Candlehead in front of her as a shield, the other girl covering her eyes with her hands. Once Taffyta heard her president's voice, she immediately straightened herself up and cleared her throat.

"I knew it was you, Vanellope."

"Wait, that's Vanellope?" Candlehead leaned forward to look at her face. "You sure, she doesn't look like her!"

"Yeah, sure, Taffyta." Vanellope snickered. "Admit it, BB and I got you all and we got you GOOD!"

"Hello!" BB said before giggling.

"Yeah, I wish you would've taken a photo of that too." Vanellope giggled with him.

"I bet you we won't get scared like that again." Taffyta said. "Come on, let's go." She said as she and the group moved forward. "Besides, after the first time, it isn't so bad after tha- AHHHH!" She screamed as Foxy jumped out, emitting his signature screech. When the group of racers cowered, nearly backing up right into Vanellope and BB, he threw his head back, emitting a hearty mechanical laugh.

"This is awesome!" Gloyd pumped a fist in the air after he got over the shock. "We should have jump scares in Sugar Rush!"

"Are you nuts, we'll all wreck out!" Taffyta argued.

"Gene, the fox is gone now." Mary whispered to Gene, who had taken a page from Taffyta's book and used Candlehead for his own shield.

"Let go of me, weird mustache guy!" the little girl shrieked before wiggling loose and kicking his shin.

Characters from all over GCS came to see the haunted house, and receptions from them were mostly positive. The night went off without a hitch, and once the last character left, Vanellope pumped a fist in the air.

"That was great! We really scared the pants off them and they really liked all you guys!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms out towards the animatronics.

"Thankfully there were few security risks detected... couple things we can patch up tomorrow." Calhoun added.

"Hey Ralph, I thought you said you were going to open up that room over there? Maybe we can stick Jeremy in there with some props tomorrow." Mike laughed.

"Eh, I'll take care of it in the morning, I'm pretty tired." Ralph said, stretching his arms.

"Not me, I'm wide-eyed and bushy-tailed!" Bobby boasted while bouncing on his tip-toes. Immediately after saying it, he fell backwards onto his back and started snoring, earning some giggles from Vanellope and BB.

Ralph rolled his eyes. "Should we just leave him here or take him... wherever his home is? If he even has one."

"Just leave the pathetic sap. He's used to sleeping on street benches and bus stations; he'll be fine sleeping in a haunted house attraction." Calhoun replied, turning to leave with Felix following close behind her.

Vanellope glanced up at Ralph, smiling a bit. "Good thing you're not a hobo anymore, huh Ralph? Should we at least put a blanket on him?"

Chica blinked and took off her giant "Let's Eat!" bib and offered it to Vanellope.

"I guess that'll work." She put the bib on Bobby which covered up most of his upper half anyway.

Vanellope turned, joining the others as they went to their prospective games. Back at the Sugar Rush castle, she was heading to her bedroom when she passed by Mike's room. He felt more comfortable staying in the castle with her; Vanellope entered his room when he noticed he was staring out the window with an unsure expression on his face. When he noticed her enter the room, he blinked, looking over at her and smiling lightly.

"Hey... did you tuck BB in?" He chuckled.

"Well gee, he's not a baby, he can tuck himself in." She hopped up to sit next to her friend. "What'cha thinking about?"

Mike sighed. "Just... stuff."

"The ghost kids?" Vanellope asked, frowning. "Mike, you know they already forgave you... they know that you weren't the one at fault. It was... him."

"I know, Van... but I was still the one who committed the act." He held his head. "The whole thing was just... such a fuzzy memory..."

"Don't think about it." Vanellope said. "Just remember, that's not who you are. You're my awesome buddy!" She beamed, lightly punching his arm.

Mike chuckled, lightly rubbing the spot where she punched him. "I still can't help but feel this... this lingering sense of dread... like it could come back any moment to bite me."

"Yeah... I still have nightmares sometimes too." Vanellope admitted.

Mike blinked then. "Wait, what? What kind of nightmares?"

"It's... nothing, really." She regretted saying anything, breaking eye contact with him.

"Vanellope, tell me." Mike demanded.

She sighed, glancing back at him. "I... I see this... arcade console... kind of like the ones we're in, but it's in the restaurant... the screen is flickering. I can hear whispers..."

"What do they say?" Mike asked, listening intently.

"They say... he will come back, he always does. That there is a special place for him." Vanellope answered quietly.

"Special place for him?" Mike bit his lip as he pondered on that. "Who would 'him' be? Phone Guy? But we killed him, he can't come back."

"I know…" Vanellope sighed, her arms loosely hanging by her sides as she gazed out the window tiredly. "But the dreams always meant something before, so they have to mean something now, right?"

"I guess? I think working on the haunted house is drudging up some old memories is all though."

"Eh, maybe." She shrugged lightly. "I guess you'd be having them too if it was something serious."

"Yeah..." Mike smiled before giving the girl a hug. "All right, let's try to have some sweet dreams tonight."

Vanellope smiled, hugging him back. "Yeah, gotta be ready to scare more people's pants off tomorrow, right?" She giggled before hopping off Mike's bed, skipping to her own bedroom to go to sleep.


	3. Moving Doors

The next morning, Bobby awoke, groaning as he sat up, stretching his arms. "Dude... I crashed so hard last night..." He scratched his back as he got to his feet, shuffling towards the audio booth. When something caught his eye, he stopped, turning to look towards the right side of the room. He blinked, his brows rising as his eyes widened for a moment. "Dude... Wreck-it found one heck of a prop last night..."

Bobby hopped to his feet and carefully approached the large...thing propped up against the wall. It was a filthy, dull tan with rips and tears all over its fabricated fur covering. The animatronic machinery underneath was visible in a few places, giving it the appearance that it had been through hell and back.

"Well, you a bunny or a bear?" Bobby asked the seemingly dormant animatronic, scratching the side of his stubble as he tilted his head to look at it from a different angle. "Ugly thing, aren't ya?"

Vanellope walked in then, she and BB ahead of the rest of the group as she was the most eager to get the day started. "Hey, Bobby! Are you awake? We have to get this place ready for another- woah..." She stopped when she came across the same sight Bobby was currently gazing upon, her brows rising as she approached to stand next to him. "That's creepy..." She beamed then. "This is GREAT! Now everyone will REALLY be scared! Ralph! Come check this out!"

Bobby turned then. "Oh, Wreck-it already saw this thing, little lady."

"What?" Vanellope put her hands on her hips when Ralph came in, joined by the other adults, Mike, and Jeremy, who they had dragged along with them. "Ralph, you found this thing last night and didn't even tell me?"

Ralph stopped, the group matching his surprised expression as he gazed into the no longer boarded up room. "Uh... what in the heck is that?"

Vanellope rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't play dumb, you tore the rest of these boards off and found whatever-"

"Woah, wait a minute! I did not take these boards off... I LEFT with all of you! Bobby must have done it obviously; he was the one here all night!" Ralph exclaimed.

"I don't think so, big man." Bobby held his hands up. "I crashed ultra-hard last night, slept like a baby."

"Well SOMEONE obviously came in here and got him out." Jeremy rolled his eyes, not believing he got forced to come in this game. "Destroying the place already, geez, brings back memories."

"For once I agree with Fitzgerald." Calhoun said with a thoughtful tap on her chin. "But who could've done it?"

BB tapped Vanellope on her shoulder to get her attention. "Hi."

She widened her eyes at that and then chuckled. "No way, he couldn't have gotten HIMSELF out of there. How would he be able to pry the boards off if he were inside that room?"

"Oh come on, you guys! Bobby probably just did it while sleep walking or something!" Ralph threw his hands up. "Now let's get this stuff cleaned up and figure out how to set up the room..."

"Jeremy can take this room." Mike suggested. "Hey Jer Bear, want to hang with funny bunny?" He laughed.

Jeremy shot him a quick sideways glare. "Ha. Ha. What are you, a comedian? If you think I'm gonna stay stuck in a room alone with that... thing," he wrinkled his nose at the new animatronic. "You are sorely mistaken."

Mike shrugged, though he kept a smile. "Okay, fine, if you're too scared..." Vanellope and BB let out a giggle at the offended look on Jeremy's face.

"I never said anything about being-!" Jeremy paused and growled under his breath, his face turning red as he tried to keep his temper down. "Fine, whatever, I'll stay here and babysit the thing if it means staying away from you clowns. I'm the only competent person around here for the job anyway, since I won't let people just waltz in and tear the place apart and-"

"Great, thanks, buddy!" Mike interrupted him with a friendly shoulder punch, earning an embarrassed glare from his friend.

"Now that THAT'S settled…" Calhoun cleared her throat. "Let's fix up the problems we found yesterday. Might need to inspect that room that this thing probably came out of it and see if it's even safe to keep open."

"Not to mention fix anything that might be damaged, if someone truly was in here trying to wreck the place." Felix added as he walked alongside his wife down the hall. He winced at his words before shooting an apologetic glance at Ralph. "No offense, brother."

"Eh, none taken." The wrecker shrugged.

Calhoun took some time to observe the building, taking time to note if anything was out of place. When she found nothing else, she firmly nodded to herself, walking back to the others. "It looks like anything else was disturbed or moved around last night... we'll just have to keep an eye on things until we can figure out what THAT is all about." She pointed at the lone animatronic in the formerly boarded up room.

"It looks so... I dunno... like someone ran over it a few times." Vanellope commented.

"Looks like it got chewed up by a nest of cybugs to me." Ralph said, not wanting to go anywhere near it.

Jeremy coughed and held his nose, kicking the thing's foot. "It stinks like shit too."

"How long has this room been boarded up for? I mean, as far as back stories go...?" Mike asked.

"This upgrade supposedly takes place thirty years after the place from your game closed, Mike." Jeremy replied.

"Well that explains it; it's like why Ralph stunk so badly when I first met HIM. He'd lived in a garbage heap for thirty years!" Vanellope commented. "At least you smell better now, pal!" She beamed at him.

Ralph gave her an annoyed smile, reaching down to mess her hair up. "Gee, thanks, ya little crumb snatcher."

"Y'know, I wonder why there ain't anything in any of the stuff we found that mentions this guy." Bobby piped in. "He's part of the game right? He should have some info lying around somewhere."

Everybody stared at hobo in shock. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Dunderson's got a point." Calhoun said. "What's the story behind this thing? Does it have a name? Is it connected to anything else that happened in the past games?"

"Well, I guess I could let you look through these audio files, captain." Bobby smirked playfully. "You're better at this detective stuff than I am."

She rolled her eyes, any positive thoughts she had about him vanished instantly. "It's 'Sergeant'." She growled as she briskly headed towards where the audio equipment was located. "And apparently you didn't pay attention to anything you were listening to while working on these tapes or else you would know all about the story."

Bobby just shrugged. "Eh, I don't pay much attention to anything, to be honest."

Calhoun clenched her fists, storming into the audio booth so she could refrain from knocking the party-goer's teeth out. Meanwhile, Mike helped Ralph clean away the wood from the boards and sweep up the area while Felix took care of anything, like the room's frame, that needed fixing.

"I wonder what this room would've been for originally." Ralph wondered out loud. "I mean surely the restaurant didn't build a back room for the sole purpose of keeping our mysterious new friend back there hidden away."

"Might've been a storage room." Mike replied. "Or maybe a break room for employees. Who knows, but I'm concerned with the fact it was boarded up in the first place."

Before Ralph could voice his agreement, a loud barrage of G-rated cursing came streaming out of the audio room. Ralph, Felix, and Mike all exchanged glances before rushing down the hallway towards the room, meeting up with everyone else in the meantime.

"Tammy, what's wrong?" Felix asked her worriedly as he rushed inside, his hammer out in case she needed healing.

"This stupid, ancient equipment just BROKE DOWN!" The outraged sergeant shouted, waving a hand over the smoking machinery. "Dunderson, I thought this was supposed to all be fixed up!"

Bobby scratched at his beard casually. "Uh, it WAS, until you broke it again."

"I didn't..." Calhoun stopped, gritting her teeth to keep from yelling more. "I was in the middle of listening to something about training tapes and that's when this stupid thing decided to flare up on me. That could've been important!"

"It's fine, Tammy, I can fix it." Her husband smiled, tapping it with his hammer. His smile faded when it failed to work. "What the?" He hit it a few more times, only for it to have no effect. "Jiminy jaminy…" He muttered, giving his hammer a strange look before glancing back at Ralph. "I-I hope it's not busted..." The last thing he needed was for his hammer's ability to die; his game depended on it!

"Maybe it's just a gli-, er, but..." Ralph corrected himself mid-sentence, giving Vanellope an apologetic look for almost saying the "g" word.

Calhoun pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling deeply. "Dunderson, can you fix this?"

Bobby came over to take a look at it, inspecting the damage. "Yeah but it'll take all night."

"But what about the haunted house?" Vanellope frowned sadly. "Litwak's vacation isn't going to last forever, and neither will the maintenance on this cabinet, we only have a few days to do this!"

BB squeezed her hand. "Hi."

"If you say so…" She said with a disappointed sigh.

Calhoun meanwhile salvaged the audio tapes which were thankfully not harmed. "I'll have to take these to Hero's Duty and see if I can get them to work on the computers there. Might take a while to get my new-age equipment to process these things, but I'll report back once I get something."

"Guess it'll just be awesome ol' me taking the mic tonight... that other guy's voice put me to sleep last night, bro."

"Alright, short stack and I are going to be going through these. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll be able to get these back here and maybe get the audio situation remedied. Wreck-it, you're in charge. If Dunderson here messes around..." She smacked her fist into her hand, firmly nodding at Ralph. "Understand?"

"Come on, cap'! I'm not so bad..." He hung an arm around her shoulders, smiling cooly. "No one can stay mad at the Bobbarino."

"Dunderson, either remove your arm from my shoulders or I will put you in front of a firing range in three-two-"

"Okay okay!" Bobby said with his arms up in the air like a robber caught by the cops. "No touchy, me gets it."

Felix shook his head, taking his wife by the hand as they headed out. Ralph turned to Vanellope and BB, his hands on his hips. "No reason for you two to stay here all night. Might as well go have some fun elsewhere."

"No way, we want to explore this place some more!" Vanellope shook her head. "Come on, BB, let's see if there's any secret compartments in that storage room!" They went running down the hall, Ralph calling out for them to be careful.

Jeremy popped his neck a couple times, groaning. "Is my tour of duty over yet? If so, I'm catching the train to go to my own creepy game to-"

RING RING

Everyone suddenly became quiet when the unexpected sound of the phone ringing filled the air. Bobby was the only one left in the room who wasn't disturbed by this phenomenon, the others having unwanted flashbacks to Phone Guy, and he simply snatched up the receiver to talk. "Hey, what's up, bromigo!" He furrowed a brow and shook the phone a bit. "Huh, I can't hear you, speak up."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and stormed over. "Give me that!" He grabbed the phone from Bobby's hand and then answered it himself. "Hello and what do you want?"

Vanellope poked her head out of the other room as Jeremy answered the phone, frowning a bit when he hung up and was complaining to Ralph and Mike about "prank callers."

"BB... that's how my nightmares I've been having lately start... the phone ringing and then I pick up... and he's there." She glanced back at her friend worriedly.

Vanellope noticed the ghost children float in near them then, glancing around the formerly boarded up room. Something about the room seemed to make them feel unsettled, the children remaining close together.

"Hello?" BB tilted his head.

"Sometimes I wake up and I'll remember everything he said for a few moments but most of it fades away…" She answered him with a sigh as the two headed over to where the ghost children were. "Hey, what's wrong?" She blinked as they all swarmed her, whimpering. "Did... something happen in this room? Well, I guess that would explain why it was boarded up." She answered her own question once she thought it over.

Ralph sighed. "Alright, Bobby, why don't you go and... rehearse what you're going to say tonight... Jeremy and Mike, you can try to set up the new room and get it ready."

"A- okay, wreck-it man!" Bobby saluted him before whistling away into the audio booth.

Mike looked down at the new animatronic, which he had to admit was definitely the creepiest one so far. "Should we take him with us?"

"IT, Mike, it's an IT." Jeremy corrected him, grabbing Mike by the wrist to get him moving down the hallway towards their assigned room before going back to crossing his arms across his chest. "And if you think you and I would be able to drag that thing all the way down here, you're delusional."

Mike frowned at him. "Y'know, Jer, you could at least TRY to have fun with this."

The other guard rolled his eyes. "Place gives me the heebies. You notice that the guard for this game isn't around? What happened to THEM?"

"Well the game IS still downloading, so maybe he or she is just dormant somewhere. Or maybe there isn't a guard at all and it's just a robotic device kinda like what Calhoun rigged up for me in the first game."

"I don't know, Mike. There's something suspicious going on... and I don't mean just with this game's background... just a gut feeling. I don't want to stick around here, so after tonight, you guys can do this on your own until the console is fully upgraded."

Meanwhile, as Vanellope explored around, she crouched down, tilting her head. "Hey BB, you like crawling through vents, right?"

"Hello." BB replied, crouching down next to her to look into the vent she had found.

"Yeah, you do fit in them better than the other animatronics." Vanellope giggled.

Together, they removed the grating and they crawled inside, the vent being big enough for them to crawl side-by-side. "We should've thought of this earlier." Vanellope said, her voice slightly echoing in the confined space. "It might lead to more rooms!"

"Hello." BB replied, looking up at something. Vanellope joined him, tilting her head.

"Huh, a camera... so I guess something is supposed to go in here." She said.

"Hi."

"Yeah, you're right, probably that creepy new animatronic bunny-bear thing." She nodded. It was then that she noticed something on the bottom portion of the vent. "Hey, BB, look!" The two of them inspected the thick sheet of metal that was inserted between two vent sections. "I wonder why that's there."

Before they could come up with an answer, Vanellope could just barely hear Ralph's voice calling for them from one of the rooms. "Aww man... just when we were having some fun..."

"Hey!" Ralph stuck his head in the vent when he heard the kids inside. "You two get out of there, it isn't safe!"

"Come on, Ralph! We're bored! Besides, BB is an expert at vents." Vanellope smirked playfully.

"Expert or not, I'm the adult here and I want you two-"

Before Ralph could finish his sentence, Vanellope and BB suddenly disappeared from view as a sheet of metal suddenly zipped up from the bottom of the vent, sealing them off. "VANELLOPE! BB!" He shouted in a panic, not knowing what to do. He couldn't very well tear it apart; he might accidentally hurt the kids. "Hey, can you hear me?! Vanellope!"

"Uh-oh." Vanellope muttered in the meantime as she blinked at the thing blocking them from going back from where they had come.

"Hello." BB said, gently tugging on Vanellope's sleeve and pointing in the other direction.

"Yeah well of course it's got to lead to somewhere, it's not going to disappear into a black hole!" Vanellope said, the two crawling towards the other way to try to find a way out.


	4. Awakening Springtrap

Meanwhile, Calhoun and Felix were stationed in Hero's Duty at a large computer panel. The sergeant took one of the audio tapes she had taken with her, blew some dust off of it, and stuck it inside a slot. It had taken several attempts for her to get the space-age equipment to allow the tapes to play, at last getting some success.

Some static was heard then from the speakers and that's when they both heard a voice they never wanted to hear again. "Uh, hello! Hello, hello!"

"Oh no, not HIM again…" Felix groaned, getting shushed immediately by his wife.

The audio continued. "Uh, welcome to your new career as a performer and entertainer for Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Uh, these tapes will provide you with much needed information on how to handle, climb into, and climb out of mascot costumes. Right now, we have two specially designed suits that double as both animatronics and suits. So please pay close attention while learning how to operate these suits as accidents, injuries, death, and/or irreparable and grotesque maiming can occur."

"Well we already know that someone can wear a suit." Calhoun muttered, fast-forwarding a bit. She stopped after a few seconds to play the tape again.

"To change the animatronics to suit mode, insert and turn firmly the hand crank provided by the manufacturer. Turning the crank will recoil and compress the animatronic parts around the sides of the suit, providing room to climb inside. Please make sure the spring locks are fastened tight to ensure the animatronic devices remain safe."

"A hand crank?" Felix questioned as the tape ended its run. Calhoun ignored him, instead inserting another tape in. She skipped through the parts where the Phone Guy was talking about how to put a suit on and a list of weird rules like 'don't breathe on the spring locks.' The next part however was interesting.

"In the case of the spring-locks come loose while you are wearing the suit, please try to maneuver away from populated areas before bleeding out, as to not ruin the customers' experience. As always, if there is ever an emergency, please go to the designated safe room. Every location is built with one extra room that is not included in the digital map layout programmed in the animatronics or the security cameras. This room is hidden to customers, invisible to animatronics, and is always off-camera. As always, remember to smile; you are the face of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza."

"Jiminy, bleeding out!" Felix cried. "How is that a legal device to wear?!"

"Didn't you hear him mention a safe room? That has to be that new room we discovered earlier. Strange that the company supposedly kept it secret from the public however..." Calhoun said.

"Tammy... do you think that animatronic that was found in there was put there for a reason?" Felix asked.

"You bet your britches, I do." She agreed with him, quickly swapping out tapes in hopes that even more vital information would be on them.

"Uh, hello? Hello, hello! Uh, there's been a slight change of company policy concerning use of the suits. After learning of an unfortunate incident at a sister location, involving multiple and simultaneous spring lock failures, the company has deemed the suits temporarily unfit for employees. Safety is our top priority at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, which is why the classic suits are being retired to an appropriate location, while being looked at by our technician. Until replacements arrive, you'll be expected to wear the temporary costumes provided to you. Keep in mind that they were found on very short notice, so questions about appropriateness/relevance should be deflected. I repeat, the classic suits are not to be touched, activated or worn."

"So the company knew that these suits were dangerous, still let people wear them, and now they have some deaths on their hands." The sergeant mused, leaning back in her chair a bit. "The Toy versions must not have been able to be worn, or else they would've used those instead of just buying some cheap furry suits."

"Do you think the murders of those children happened during the suit malfunctions, or during the time the employees wore regular costumes?"

"THAT I'm not sure of." Calhoun replied.

Meanwhile, BB scanned the vent, holding a finger up to Vanellope to tell her to wait. He went ahead, exploring a bit before crawling back, waving her on. She smiled when she saw a way out, BB crawling out first before helping her.

"Nice job, BB! Hey, Ralph, we're in here!" Vanellope called.

Ralph glanced up, having been helping Mike and Jeremy move the animatronic while listening out for the kids. Mike gave Ralph a nod. "Thanks, Jeremy and I can set this animatronic up and everything from here. We should go clean up that room first though... it reeks."

"Fantastic." Jeremy rolled his eyes as they left the room.

Before Ralph could even take a step, he turned and sighed with relief as Vanellope and BB passed Mike and Jeremy, entering the room.

"Well, at least you two are okay… what the heck happened in there?" Ralph asked.

"Not sure, we might have just set something off. Some of the game's mechanics might just be screwy for a while until it finishes upgrading." Vanellope replied. "Hey, can we check this creepy guy out?"

Ralph glanced back at the animatronic. "Well, okay, just for a minute though, we have to finish setting him up for tonight, and we don't know much about him. Wonder why he isn't doing anything yet…"

Vanellope and BB approached the mysterious animatronic, tilting her head. "Man, this thing has seen better days..."

"Hello." BB responded.

"I dunno... Felix may know what its name is, being he was in the code room." Vanellope noticed something then, squinting a bit as she took a step closer. "I see something funny inside its mouth..."

BB looked on worriedly as his friend used her little hands to pry the decrepit animatronic's teeth apart enough to where she could see more, the little girl standing on its thick legs to give her a boost.

"Van, be careful around that thing." Ralph warned her as she did this, not feeling too much at ease with her touching it. "Might catch a virus from that nasty thing."

"I'm fine, ya big baby!" Vanellope rolled her eyes playfully with a smirk. She squinted again only for her eyes to suddenly widen to their fullest extent, a blank look on her face. She looked as if in a trance, her face devoid of emotion. BB whined, tugging on her sleeve, asking her what was wrong.

As she peered inside, she could see something raw; a mouth gaping wide open. The animatronic's large, glazed over eyes darted towards her, and they somehow looked like they had sunk into the sockets of the decomposed skull inside. Vanellope gasped as a series of images flashed through her mind of the animatronic twitching, the sound of creaking and cracking and choking. The girl threw herself back as she began to glitch horribly, her screaming even glitching up as she clutched her head.

"Kid!" Ralph tried to pick her up but her glitching was so haphazard that she was nothing but an unstable mess of pixels, rendering him unable to keep her in his grasp.

"S-s-sti-sti-," she tried to spit out, her voice warbling so much that it was almost impossible to hear her. "Sti-ill h-h-her-here, I-I'm st-t-sti-still, I-I'm he-her." Suddenly the glitching stopped, Vanellope collapsing onto the floor in a heap, her breathing heavy and her face red.

"HI!" BB yelled out in a frightened tone, watching tearfully as Ralph picked her up and cradled her to his chest.

"Vanellope, wake up, kid, wake up!" Ralph begged her, keeping her safely tucked against him with his huge hand.

Mike skidded into the room in a hurry. "What's going on, I heard shouting!" When he saw Vanellope's state, his eyes widened, quickly approaching. "Ralph, what happened? What's wrong with her?!"

"I-I don't know!" Ralph answered him frantically. "She looked inside that dumb thing's mouth and started glitching crazier than I've ever seen her!"

BB whined and went to hug Ralph's leg, worried about his friend.

As this was happening, Foxy was on his way to the haunted house, dropping by Jeremy's game to see if any of the Toy animatronics were around. He had left the ANON meeting first, the other older animatronics, Golden Freddy and the Puppet still there. When he looked around, he noticed Mangle by herself in Party Cove, approaching her. From what Toy Chica had told him, she barely left the game, only to go to ANON meetings where she would remain to herself. She was ashamed of her appearance, and how others looked at her. She was often irritable and bitter, most times snapping at others and was the hardest to be around. Foxy tilted his head, grunting at her lightly. He felt concerned for his mammalian counterpart, as she struggled the most out of all the animatronics to fit in. Mangle listened to him even though she stayed cooped up in the rafters, where it was safe and away from others. She grumbled back at him after he told her about the haunted house attraction, telling him that she was declining the offer. Foxy reached up his non-hooked hand and patted one of her extensions, which she recoiled automatically much like a serpent. He expressed that she wouldn't be alone and that if anything happened, he would take responsibility for it, even taking her back to her roost and never bothering her with it again. Mangle looked off in the distance, her large frame groaning mechanically as she shifted her weight. She didn't want to be stared at like some freak, she wanted to fit in like everyone else. That didn't seem possible, though, so why bother? Foxy groaned lightly, saying to her that the kids would be happy to see her. This made her poke her head out; indeed, even she had to admit that Vanellope's high spirits were contagious. With a mechanical huff, she emitted a garbled acceptance, crawling and making her way out of the vent and Foxy helped her as they went towards the haunted house together.

As they entered the building, Foxy sensed something was wrong when he heard BB's crying. Alarmed, he momentarily forgot Mangle behind him and dashed down the hall, stopping when he saw BB along with Mike, Ralph and Vanellope. The little girl appeared unconscious, and Foxy headed over immediately. As Mangle tried to approach, the phone suddenly rang. She whipped towards the sound, emitting loud, garbled radio sounds as she retreated into a corner.

"Hey, if that's another prank caller, tell them we'll sic ugly on them!" Jeremy hollered out from down the hall, referring to the new, still nameless, animatronic.

Mike ignored him, jerking the phone receiver up. "All right, who is this? Answer me!"

"Hello, hello...? Well, looks like little ratty girl saw my decomposed corpse... she knows that's how she's going to end up when I'm through with her. You think you can just get rid of me? Well, I will tell you, that as long as this establishment remains intact, so will I. And as long as I am here, you are all in grave danger. So before you all go running for help, I think you should all take some time to admire all the work you've done. We can admire it together."

Mike breathed shakily as suddenly, the sounds of doors, windows, and vent locks closed, slamming tight, and the lights dimmed considerably.

"Hey, what's happening?" Ralph exclaimed.

"That's better. Now, before I go ahead and add the finishing touches to this joint... as in, make YOU the new props for me to look at proudly, I'm going to play a little game with you. I have some new tricks up my sleeve and I have all I need to use..."

"How are you...we killed you, how are you back?" Mike asked, the phone trembling in his hand. An evil chuckle was the only answer he received before the phone clicked, the dial tone the only sound he heard now.

Foxy growled as he heard what Mike said, BB whimpering at his feet. Ralph knew Mike could only be talking to one person, the two of them sharing a horrified expression. "No..."

"What the hell are you guys doing out here?" Jeremy demanded as he stormed back out into the hallway, not noticing the disturbed looks on everyone's faces at first. "Did that Bobby guy blow a fuse working on that-" He blinked when he got a better picture of what was in front of him, rubbing the side of his head. "Damn, you guys look like you seen a ghost."

Vanellope came to in Ralph's arms then, glancing around with a frightened expression. "Ralph... he isn't gone... he's in-" She turned to look at something, gasping and jumping out of his hand. "Where did it go... where did it go...?"

"Hey bros, something's all jacked up with the sound equipment! Who killed the lights, man?" Bobby shouted from the audio booth.

Foxy and Mangle both growled simultaneously, the air having grown tense. Jeremy noticed Mike holding the phone still, shaking as he tried to hang it up. "Ohhhh no, not this again, I am NOT dealing with this again!"

"Jeremy, just calm down." Ralph said even though he wasn't calm himself. "We got through this once, we can do it again!"

"Just barely!" Jeremy pressed his hand against his head and grimaced lightly as if he had a headache. "The only reason I'm here is because MIKE dragged me here, dammit, you people can stay and get stuffed in a suit if you want, but I'm-"

A low grumbling shut him up and everyone turned at the same time to face the mysterious new animatronic.

"It's just one animatronic Jeremy... if that phone guy thinks he's putting up a fight with this, he's got another thing coming!" Ralph clenched his fists.

"And if you think that's all he's got planned for us, then you're-"

"Everyone just be quiet for a second!" Mike shouted, not able to think with all the commotion. "Phone Guy said he had more tricks up his sleeve, we just have to figure out what they are so we can act accordingly. We can't afford to split up."

Vanellope stared as the animatronic stared right at her, tilting its head as the light flickered over its head. It went out for several moments, and when it turned back on, the animatronic vanished.

Bobby waved his hand at the others then. "Hey, uh, guys? I cannot open this door man! I wanted to go to Burger Time and grab a bite to-"

"Do you have ANY idea what's going on right now? ANY IDEA." Jeremy asked through clenched teeth. "Will you get your head out of the clouds and realize the sheer magnitude of this situation? Phone Guy is not only not dead, but he has just overridden the mechanics of this game, and until we are able to destroy his code, we are trapped in here like rats!"

Bobby blinked, raising a brow. "Phone Guy? You mean that boring dude from the audio tapes?"

"Yes, THAT ONE!" Jeremy snapped.

"Chill, dude... so let's just have a party, we've got nothing to worry about! Maybe he'll see we're a bunch of cool cats and chill out himself. Got to tune out the negative vibes, bromigo." Bobby replied.

Mike could see that Jeremy was going to have a fit if this kept up, what with his face turned so red that it was going purple, so he cleared his throat and stepped in. "Jer, take a deep breath and do that thing where you count back from ten, okay? And Bobby, uh, you don't seem to understand the severity of the situation. This guy's a child murderer and a master manipulator who screws with people's heads. There's no reasoning with him."

"Uh, guys, anyone else notice that the animatronic disappeared?" Vanellope spoke up, her voice trembling a bit.

Ralph cracked his knuckles before balling his hands into fist. "Never fear, guys, I'll just bust down the door and get us out." He let out a shout and ran full speed towards it, his fists slamming into the heavy metal door. It clanged at the impact, but not even a tiny dent was made. "What the?" Ralph beat on it much like he did the jawbreaker candy in Sugar Rush when he first met Vanellope.

"This is hopeless, this is hopeless, we're gonna die, we're sitting ducks in here," Jeremy kept muttering to himself, pacing back and forth now.

Mangle emitted some garbled audio, one of her hands prodding Jeremy in an attempt to calm him. All his panicking wasn't easing HER own worry, shifting her weight uncomfortably. She ought to bite a chunk out of Foxy for dragging her into this mess!

"Look, we just... we need some kind of plan. Does anyone know anything about the mechanics or actual gameplay for this place?" Mike asked.

"Well Jeremy said it takes place thirty years after your own game, Mike." Vanellope reminded him as Ralph came back towards the group, looking sheepish that he wasn't able to destroy the exit door and free them. "And there's some vents that have these things that swoosh up and trap you in there, and then the new animatronic of course."

"I bet Sarge knows!" Bobby piped up, a finger high in the air. "She took all those boring informational tapes with her earlier."

"You let her take the phone call recordings?" Jeremy groaned as he finally opted to sit down. He gave Mangle an uneasy look, not sure why the most reclusive character in his game was opting to be near him. "That's the most vital part of the game!"

"Too bad we can't use the phone to call her…" Ralph grumbled until Vanellope thought of something.

"Hey wait, she was using a walkie talkie earlier!" The little girl said. "Where's the other one? Maybe we can talk that way."

"Good idea, Van." Mike smiled at her, giving her a little fist bump. "Maybe Calhoun already has something figured out."

"Oh wait, you mean this? Ol' Cap left it with us earlier." Bobby said as he held up the walkie talkie.

"Well why didn't you say that in the first place, you idiot?" Jeremy shouted, snatching the device from him and switching it on. "Hey, Tamora? Felix? Anyone there? We're having a bit of a situation here!"


	5. Ringing Alarms

Meanwhile, Calhoun was just about to begin playing another tape when she heard Jeremy's voice on the walkie. Her eyes widened at the panicked tone she detected and she immediately answered. "What's going on, you guys okay? Did something happen?"

"Oh you BET something happened, that's the understatement of the year! Phone Guy's trying to kill us all in here!"

Felix gasped, putting a hand to his mouth. "Oh my lands, we have to help!"

She blinked, gripping the walkie tighter and standing up from her seat. "What do you mean, he's back? Is anyone alive? What's he doing this time? I'm coming over there!"

"Well, that isn't going to do us any good, because we seem to be trapped in here! The doors or the windows won't open, there's no way out, oh man I can't breathe!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Give me that!" She heard Ralph say, assuming he had grabbed the device from Jeremy. "Hey, Sarge, it's me, Ralph. Uh, we're all alive, don't worry, we just had a few scares is all."

Calhoun shut her eyes and sighed in relief, Felix putting a hand to his heart. "Glad to hear that at least. Listen up, I've been listening to these tapes though I'm not done yet. Apparently some employees were killed while wearing those animatronic suits, by accidentally triggering a spring trap device that would crush them inside it. There's also something going on with that boarded room that we were thinking our new friend came out of earlier. It used to be a break room for employees."

"Well that explains the dead body Vanellope found in the suit." Ralph mentioned to her.

"There was a dead body in that thing?!" She heard Jeremy scream in the background.

"Someone throw some ice water on him…" Calhoun rolled her eyes. "And maybe the dead guy is actually Phone Guy... where is it now?"

"Well, he WAS here, but he kind of disappeared, so we're just trying to figure out what-"

"Why are these red lights flashing?" Jeremy shouted in the background.

Ralph groaned at the interruption. "We're trying to figure out exactly how this game is SUPPOSED to run, so that maybe we can find the rogue file with Phone Guy and-"

"Hey bro, I found the camera thingie here, but the video quality is really lame, man!" Bobby shouted from the office.

"Will everyone just pipe down for a second so I can talk to Calhoun here?!" Ralph exclaimed.

Foxy growled and kept BB and Vanellope close to him in the meantime, the two kids hugging each other. He'd rip the arms and legs off anyone who dared mess with them. Jeremy was on the verge of hyperventilation, having pressed his hands against his eyes to shield from them the flashing lights. Mangle's gears chirped a few times at him, her head laying down on the ground to look less noticeable.

"If you're tryin' to talk to me, I'm sorry, I don't understand." Jeremy said to her in a strained voice.

"She said take slow, deep breaths." Mike translated for her, frowning as he crouched down in front of his friend and started prying his hands away from his face so he could actually breathe right. "Come on, in and out, in and out, there ya go. Feel better?" Jeremy nodded though he was still really tense, but at least he wasn't panicking anymore. "I'm gonna go check out the video Bobby pulled up, I'll right back, okay?"

"Hi." BB said quietly to Foxy, prompting the fatherly animatronic to pat his head with his non-hooked hand.

"Is everyone done having their freak-out moments?" Calhoun asked sarcastically, though she knew from experience that it wasn't a pleasant feeling to be trapped in one of those games. "I have to finish listening to these tapes, so long as everyone's alive and well, I think we can part ways right now. Just keep in contact with me, don't lose the walkie. Ralph, you and the others figure things out on your end too."

"Okay..." Ralph pocketed the walkie, turning to the others. "Look you guys, there's..." He looked around the room to count. "... eight of us here, and one animatronic. Even with Phone Guy behind this, he can't fight us all at once on his own. So this Springtrap guy better keep hiding!"

"Yeah, you said it, Ralph-man!" Bobby said as he reclined in a chair. "The dude'll have to let us out sometime, but while we're waiting, we should blast some sick tunes and just chill."

"Um, I think everyone would rather have some relaxing music instead." Mike suggested.

"Aw but those are so boring!" Bobby pouted, sinking in his chair.

"We can play 'sick tunes' when we defeat Phone Guy, which is what we should be figuring out doing anyway." Mike then looked over the camera feed that the hobo had managed to pull up. "Wow, you weren't kidding about the quality," he said as he strained to see through the visual static.

"How can you gobstoppers even be talking about music at a time like this?" Vanellope exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "We should be figuring out how the heck to get out of this joint!"

"Hey Jeremy, what do you think this is?" Mike said as he went into the office, rolling his eyes when Bobby belched upon drinking some soda. "It looks like some kind of control panel... audio, video... ventilation?" Mike figured if he could get his fearful friend occupied with something, he would freak out a bit less.

Jeremy rubbed at his eyes, the flashing lights still bothering him. He squinted at the words on the panel that Mike was pointing at. "Um...I don't have this in my game, so I'm not a hundred percent sure. I guess it's like a master panel that controls those three elements. Not sure why ventilation needs one though, that's weird. The other two are kinda obvious."

"Just tap on it, bro, and see what happens!" Bobby exclaimed, butting in between them and jamming a thumb down on the panel despite the two guards shouting in protest.

"You idiot, are you trying to sabotage...us?" Jeremy's voice trailed off when the red lights quit flashing at last, though the restaurant was still dimly lit.

"Woohoo, I fixed it!" Bobby grinned, pumping two arms in the air before throwing them around Mike and Jeremy. "Great work, team!"

"Get. OFF. Me." Jeremy growled through clenched teeth, his usual grouchy self starting to surface again. "And don't go randomly pressing buttons again, next time you might blow the place up!"

"Relax, bro! Remember that I am the tech pro around here... I've remastered audio and stereo systems, cameras, speakers, computers, you name it, I've done it. So just leave the button pushing to me, Jerry bean!" Bobby smiled as he pat Jeremy's back, resuming his reclined position in the office chair, spinning himself around. "See, not so scary, we haven't even seen the weird looking Springtrap guy yet!"

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Vanellope looked around warily.

"My name's NOT Jerry..."

"Don't worry, we all know it's Jer Bear," Mike chuckled as Jeremy face-palmed himself.

Vanellope winced in discomfort then, squeezing her legs together. BB noticed this and tilted his head. "I have to go the bathroom…" The little girl whispered, her hands clasped together in front of her. "I don't want to go by myself... and it's too embarrassing to ask Stinkbrain to go."

"Hello." BB smiled at her, offering to walk with her.

"Thanks." She smiled back, the two kids taking advantage of Foxy apologizing to Mangle for getting her in this situation so they could sneak to the bathroom really quick.

Mangle emitted some radio garble at him, a bit frustrated, but she was rational enough to know that Foxy didn't plan on all of this happening. She puffed out a mechanical sigh, retreating down a hallway to hide in a dark corner.

Meanwhile, Vanellope practically dragged BB by his hand, stopping outside the ladies' room. "I'll be really quick, okay?" She said before dashing inside. BB waited patiently, but when he heard a sound behind him, he turned, squeaking before backing up. Springtrap advanced, hissing as BB made a mad dash down the hallway. For a small animatronic, he was fast, ducking into a corner as he lost the freakish monstrosity.

Vanellope sighed with relief after washing her hands, drying them off before hopping over to the door to open it.

"Okay, let's head back, I don't want us to be alone down here for too long!" Vanellope exclaimed, but stopped when her friend wasn't in sight. "BB?" She frowned worriedly. "Hey, now is NOT the time to play hide and seek!" She ventured further down the dark hallway until she saw his outline, sighing with relief. "Well thank codes, why the heck are you waiting over here you silly head!" She approached him, reaching out to take his hand when the outline whirled around, revealing a charred appearance with blackened eyes, white pinpricks staring into hers as the phantom like BB hissed in Vanellope's face. The little girl jumped back in shock, screaming on the top of her lungs as she scrambled to run back towards the others. The phantom was right on her tail, pouncing towards her until a hand stuck out from the wall, grabbing the girl and yanking her sharply to the side. The hand covered her mouth as the phantom ran past them, and Vanellope struggled until she was met with the single eye of Mangle, emitting low radio garble in an attempt to hush the frightened girl. When Vanellope glanced over to see that the real BB was with them, she calmed a bit, her heart still pounding in her chest.

"Hi." BB whispered as he trembled a bit.

"BB... I thought you... that... that wasn't you..." She breathed. "We have to get back to Ralph quick! Whatever that thing was could be going after them!"

As they made their way back, they could feel vibrations in the floor as the wrecker's heavy footsteps neared them. "Guys, where'd you go, don't wander off like that!" He panicked as the two kids hugged him. Foxy ran up also, apologizing for not watching them closer. Vanellope was about to tell Ralph what happened to her when the walkie spat out static, Calhoun's voice coming on.

"Hey, guys, got some more information." She said. "I think you need to hear this."

Calhoun's voice disappeared and that of Phone Guy's filled the room.  _"Hello? Hello? Um, this is just a reminder of company policy concerning the safe room. The safe room is reserved for equipment and/or other property not being currently used and is in fact a safety location for employees only. This is not a break room, and should not be considered a place for employees to hide and/or congregate - and under no circumstance should a customer ever be taken into this room and out of the main show area."_

"What's the deal with this break room?" Ralph wondered out loud.

_"Management has also been made aware that the spring Bonnie animatronic has been noticeably moved. We would like to remind employees that this costume is not safe to wear under any circumstances."_

"Spring Bonnie, he must be talking about that Springtrap guy."

"Yeah well, that's all fine and great, but how does that help us?" Vanellope shouted. "I saw some... some crazy killer Balloon Boy back there!"

The Mangle hissed lowly, glancing around as she gently nudged BB towards Foxy to stay with him.

"She said that she saw Springtrap chasing BB, so she took him into the vent to keep him safe while they waited for Vanellope..." Mike translated.

Foxy emitted his thanks, and Vanellope went to hug Mangle's face gently. The white fox closed her eyes, sighing a little at the touch. "Thanks for saving BB and keeping an eye out for us."

"Hey, Calhoun, you got any more audio to share with us?" Ralph asked over the walkie once everything was calm again.

Instead of answering, the sergeant simply let the tape play.

_"Uh, hello? Hello? Uh, this is just to inform all employees that due to budget restrictions, the previously mentioned safe rooms are being sealed at most locations, including this one. Work crews will be here most of the day today, constructing a false wall over the old door base. Nothing is being taken out beforehand, so if you've left anything inside, then it's your own fault. Management also requests that this room not be mentioned to family, friends or insurance representatives. Thanks again, and remember to smile; you are the face of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza."_

"That's it, that's the last one," Calhoun told them once the tape finished.

"So wait, did they seal Springtrap up on purpose?" Mike asked out loud.

"Seems so, man…" Bobby spoke up as he walked out of the office, crunching his soda can against his head before tossing it into the trash. "I mean, that's where I found the Springtrap dude this morning, remember?"

"Wait a second." Jeremy held a hand up. "We never figured out WHO finished unsealing that room, did we?"

The room fell silent for a moment. Vanellope took a step forward then. "He will always come back…" She whispered to herself before looking up at him. "What if… Phone Guy was hiding in here all along? What if he was the one who did it?"

Ralph sighed. "But Vanellope, we all watched the animatronics tear the guy to shreds when-"

"Well he's obviously not dead, is he?!" She exclaimed, furrowing her brows. "You all thought Turbo was dead too when his game went out of order and he wasn't! You know, I'd like to find out why all of these rogue game characters have some kind of grudge against me, what the heck did I ever do?!"

"Wrong place at the wrong time…" Mike sighed. "The story of both our lives."

"There must have been some other file from the second game that contained his consciousness." Jeremy stated. "He just waited for the right moment to get us all in here so he could kill us one by one!"

RING RING

Everyone turned at the sound of the phone, freezing. Bobby blinked at this, snickering lightly. "Come on man, could be some babe at the other end or something!" He said as he went over to pick it up.

"Bobby, don't!" Jeremy shouted.

"Hey, you are speaking to the number one Bobby Dunderson!" He answered, winking and snickering a bit louder.

"Hello Bobby Dunderson. Well, aren't you a new face? Why don't you put me on speaker so everyone can hear me."

"Oh hey, are you that phone guy everyone's going crazy about? Sure man, but just saying, someone needs to take a chill pill!" Bobby said as he put the phone on speaker.

"Much better." Everyone was able to hear him as he continued. "Well, I hope you're all having a bit of fun. You're all under the impression that because there's only one animatronic, this will just be a piece of cake, right? Well, I've got quite the assortment of tricks to play on all of you, and trust me, it will be worse than what any animatronic can do to you." Phone Guy chuckled. "But you know what? I'm going to have a little bit of fun before I watch you all kill yourselves."

"You just shut up and let us out of here!" Jeremy shouted.

"Uh oh, someone's getting a little testy already? I love it. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm going to play a little game with you. You see, all this time, there was only one I wanted dead. I was willing to let you all get on with your lives, and restore order and peace in the arcade. But you pushed me, and now I'm going to push back. Mike was my biggest obstacle, but you know what I realized? Killing Mike is not the answer. There's only one of you that I want dead now, because that'll kill the rest of you a lot quicker than I can. So here are the rules of the game. As long as the one I want dead stays alive, you all stay trapped in here until you have no sanity left. As soon as the one I want dead, is killed, then you're all free to go."

"We aren't killing anybody!" Mike grit his teeth.

"Well, I'm glad that you've finally given up your blood lust, Mike… at least, you have for now." Phone Guy chuckled. "Fine… well, Vanellope, I hope your little friends stay as loyal as they are now… because you're the one that ruined everything for me. And until I see the life leave your eyes, none of you are going anywhere."

Ralph growled as he scooped up the frightened child in his arms. "Don't you even THINK about it, you low life!"

"Oh-ho, someone's not paying attention. I never said that I was literally going to be the one to kill her. It could be very well that one of YOU decides to do it, kill her so that they and the rest of you won't have to suffer. A savior, if you will. But then again, maybe I WILL do it myself if I start getting bored of you lot going insane." Phone Guy cackled evilly, the spine-tingling noise resonating throughout the entire game. "Thanks again, and remember to smile! You are the face of-"

Hearing enough, Mike furrowed a brow and angrily hung up on Phone Guy in mid-sentence, blowing out a breath and raking his hand through his hair. "Okay, obviously we need to come up with a plan where EVERYONE survives and keeps their sanity."


	6. Closing Space

 

Vanellope whimpered, clutching Ralph's shirt tightly. The wrecker held her close, intent on holding her for the rest of eternity if he had to. He glanced over at Jeremy, who honestly looked as disturbed as the rest of them, and pointed a huge finger in his face.

"YOU are the only one in this room I don't trust." He glared at him, getting a stunned blink as a response. "If anyone here is going to snap and think about killing Vanellope to save themselves, it'd be YOU."

"Whoa, hold on, let's not be throwing accusations around." Mike tried to intervene, but the damage was done already. "Nobody, including Jer, is gonna-"

"E- Excuse me?" Jeremy said in utter shock, looking as if someone had slapped him across the face. "You really think I would-"

"Yeah, I do actually!" Ralph snapped at him as Mike wormed his way in between them. "You already freaked out big time earlier, who's to say you won't do it again and go axe-crazy!"

"Ralph, just stop," Vanellope begged tiredly.

"Oh I get it, let's just go ahead and pin everything on Jeremy, the world's biggest jerk, I see how it is!" Jeremy shouted back at Ralph, getting more upset by the second. "You wanna think I'm some kiddie killer, fine! I'll just go seclude myself in the opposite side of this godforsaken restaurant so I won't be a danger to anyone! I mean, I might start stabbing all of you here in a second, who knows, right?!"

"Bros, come on! When things get tense at the club, we do our sick breathing techniques and-"

"Shut up, will you just shut up? You irritate me the most!" Jeremy snapped. "You're so worried about me, Mike's the one who killed the kids in the first place!" He spat. "And he almost killed Vanellope when HE lost his marbles last time! Talk about going axe crazy!"

"Stop!" Vanellope cried. "This is what he wants! He wants us to fight..."

Suddenly, as a surprise to all of them, the grey children emerged from their hiding spots, floating silently over to where Vanellope was. One gently tugged on Ralph's pant leg in an attempt to request to put her down.

Ralph backed up, not wanting anyone near him, his eyes darting everywhere. "Everyone just stay back okay, just stay away from us!"

Mike pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep this thoughts together. He still struggled with what he'd done in his backstory and what Jeremy had said didn't exactly help. "Ralph, PLEASE, calm down, everything was okay until you started pointing fingers."

Vanellope hopped out of Ralph's hands, much to his horror. The grey children surrpounded her, their eyes closed as they held hands. When Ralph tried to reach out to take her back, he gasped when there was a sudden resistance, as if they had creates some kind of force field.

"Hey, give her back!" Ralph exclaimed.

"Will you calm down, stinkbrain?" Vanellope said. "They're trying to show you that they can protect me! Wow... this is pretty neat, where'd you learn to do that?"

Bobby stared at the scene, his mouth ajar. "Woah... trippy, little dudes... see, we should be like them, all love and holding hands instead of all the negativity. Come on Jerry, let's hold hands and-"

"Don't even try it." Jeremy said through gritted teeth.

"Hey, can BB come in here with me?" Vanellope asked the ghost kids, glancing over at her friend who was steadily clinging to Foxy's leg.

The fifth ghost child smiled and nodded, opening up the circle to allow him in. "See, now can everyone calm down a little?" Vanellope asked as she put her hands on her hips.

Ralph sighed lightly, scratching the back of his head. "Fine... sorry about yelling at you, Jeremy... I'm just really worried about Vanellope being hurt again, or WORSE." He frowned.

Jeremy sighed through his nose and mentally counted back from three to help calm himself down. "It's okay, I get it, I'm not exactly user-friendly after all." He said quietly. He then glanced over at Mike, clearing his throat and giving him a rare sheepish look. "I'm sorry too, Mikey, that was out of line, even for ME. I know you wouldn't hurt a fly."

Mike blinked at the fact that he was actually apologizing, probably for the first time ever. "Thanks, buddy." He managed a small smile, Jeremy giving a tiny one back before tugging his hat down partially over his eyes; like Mangle, he wasn't exactly keen on being around too many people in close quarters like this, especially if he was thrust in a situation where all eyes were on him.

"SEE, this is what I'm talking about!" Bobby blurted out, ruining the tranquility. "All these lovin' vibes coursing through our codes, demolishing the bad ones!"

Mangle hissed lowly, she was quite irritated by the whole situation, and Bobby's robust behavior wasn't helping much. She crouched down low when the red light began to blink again.

"What is with this light thing?" Jeremy groaned.

"I'll go press some more buttons on that control panel, man!" Bobby laughed as he went into the office to fiddle around with it.

"I think it would be best if we all stayed together." Mike said. "This Springtrap thing can't do much harm to us if we're all-" Before he could even finish his sentence, the animatronic in question dashed out of one of the vents, grabbing Mike and dragging him back.

"MIKE!" everyone screamed at the same time, Ralph beating everyone to the vent in attempt to wreck the vent open more with the thought that he could snatch Mike back.

"What is the deal, I can't wreck anything in this place!" Ralph screamed in frustration.

Jeremy had to throw his weight against Ralph's hands to get him to move them out of his way. "Stop wasting time, they're getting further away the longer you do that!" he barked at him before practically diving into the vent himself.

"What are you doing? Get out of there!" The wrecker insisted as he tried to grab Jeremy's leg. If anything, Jeremy had quick reflexes thanks to having to constantly be on his toes in his own game, so he was able to keep Ralph from getting at him. Ralph felt like breaking something when he heard the guard getting further away from him.

Foxy let out a few mechanical groans at Ralph, telling him that Jeremy was probably the only one besides Mangle and Bobby who could fit in the vent anyway and locate their kidnapped friend. Ralph groaned, his hand against his face. "This is exactly what Mike DIDN'T want, us all splitting up! I can't stay here and keep an eye on everyone AND look for those two!"

Mangle crawled out of her corner, having heard the ruckus. She clicked at both Foxy and Ralph, asking if she could help. At this point, dealing with Springtrap and the two security guards sounded like a much better option than being constantly surrounded by literally everyone else.

Bobby went into the office, turning on the cameras. The grey children moved Vanellope and BB into the office as well, and the little girl exclaimed and pointed at the cameras when Bobby stopped on one of the vent feeds, Springtrap hissing as he dragged a struggling Mike through the small space. Mangle entered the office, looking from the camera feed to the vent just above their heads. Without hesitation, she swiftly crawled up the ceiling, propelling herself into the vent to get to Springtrap and Mike from the other direction.

Meanwhile, as Mike struggled, he soon saw Jeremy come into his vision, grabbing onto his feet. "He can't drag the both of us!" He shouted. "Try to shove him back!"

"You think?" Mike shouted as he continued to struggle. Jeremy tugged on Mike's legs as much as his strength would allow, but cursed when he felt himself being sharply yanked back suddenly.

"What in the hell do you think you're-" Jeremy screamed when he was met with a phantom like Foxy. He hissed in his face as the white pinpricks in the dark voids in his eyes bore into Jeremy's, his teeth snapping as he and Mike became separated.

"JEREMY!" Mike cried out, elbowing Springtrap in an attempt to get back to his friend. Springtrap reached out to grab the young man again when he was pounced by Mangle, the female animatronic screeching radio garble as she wrestled with the malevolent monstrosity in a tangled mess.

Mike hadn't seen the Phantom Foxy for himself, and Jeremy was frozen in a delayed sense of shock from the unexpected sight. "Jeremy, move!" Mike yelled at him in a panic, snapping him back to reality.

"D- Did you see that?" Jeremy asked quietly before Mike grabbed his arm to drag him back down the vent. "It l- looked kinda like Foxy…"

"Tell me later, we have to-" Mike was interrupted by a vent seal suddenly slamming upwards, completely cutting them off.

"Oh shit, we're trapped in here with that thing!" Jeremy started freaking out again as claustrophobia set in.

As Bobby was flipping through the cameras, he held his hands up as he turned on the intercom. "Oh man bros, I totally did not do that!"

"Bobby, you have to let them out!" Vanellope cried.

"Alright hang on, you guys, I need to override the control panel!" Bobby said before cracking his knuckles, going under the desk to check out the wiring. His eyes widened when he noticed there was a purple colored essence tangled in them, and Bobby bit his lip as he fiddled around with it.

In the meantime, Jeremy whipped his head back when he heard a sound, phantom Foxy having returned. It approached slowly, tauntingly towards them as it hissed.

"Damn it Bobby, open the vent lock, it's coming right for us!" Jeremy screamed.

Bobby worked against the clock, messing around with the wiring before hopping to his feet. Vanellope and BB screamed as they saw Foxy pounce at Mike and Jeremy, whose back was pressed against the vent lock as Mike tried to hold the phantom Foxy's upper and lower jaw apart to avoid being attacked. The phantom was strong however, ripping his face out of the young man's clutches and was about to clamp down on Mike's arm when Bobby overrode the controls, releasing the one vent lock.

"Move your butts, dudes, get out of there!" Bobby shouted.

Jeremy grabbed Mike by his shoulders, yanking him back as phantom Foxy lunged. As soon as Mike and Jeremy were past the vent lock, Bobby closed it, locking phantom Foxy in and buying the two young men time to escape.

"Okay, I believe you about the fox now." Mike panted for air, his heart still racing from the attack. The sounds of Springtrap and Mangle fighting had finally quieted down, hoping that didn't mean that Mangle had met her end. "You all right, Jeremy?"

He still looked rather shaken up by the entire incident, doing the slow, deep breathing exercise he'd done earlier. "Yeah..."

"You sure?"

Jeremy looked like he wanted to say something, but he set his jaw and ducked his head down a bit. "I'm fine." He insisted. "I'm... I'm glad you're okay. Don't scare me like that again." He added more quietly before shoving Mike out of the way. "Let's hurry up and get back, I hate cramped places like this."

Meanwhile, Springtrap and pulled his vanishing act on Mangle, but not before nearly ripping off one of her extensions. She had howled in pain before retreating out of the vents, curled up in a corner again.

"Mike!" Vanellope cried, temporarily leaving the small circle to hug her friend. "Are you okay?"

"We're okay, just a little shaken up. You should stay with the children, they'll protect you." Mike smiled gently.

Mangle limped into a corner, emitting low garble as she dragged some of her extensions to reattach them.

Jeremy didn't exactly feel like being with the group right yet, needing some space after that close call in the vent. He saw Mangle was having some trouble with herself and sighed a bit, approaching carefully. "Hey, uh... you need some help with that?"

She growled low, which made him back up a little. "I'm not gonna hurt you, if that's what you're saying..." He really wished he DID understand the animatronics' language sometimes, if only to cut out the awkward translating that the others had to do in order to keep him in the conversational loop. "Consider it as a thanks for helping out back there. You kinda saved our butts." Mangle thought it over; she DID need a little assistance, much as she hated to admit. And Jeremy helping her was definitely better than, say, Bobby. The white fox clanked a few times and lowered her head to the floor, which Jeremy assumed meant that it was okay. He sat down by her and grimaced at the one extension that was just barely hanging on. "It'd make more sense if you had this over HERE, so you could walk easier. I guess that's why you hang in the roof a lot, huh? Then again, I guess we can't really alter designs too much or the players will notice. You know you're one of the favorites right?"

She perked up a bit at that, holding still so Jeremy could twist her arm-like appendage back into its socket.

"Yeah, I always hear someone mention you in almost every gameplay. Good stuff, I mean." Jeremy said.

Mangle tilted her head hopefully, emitting some low radio garble as she tried out her one arm a bit, finding it a little easier to rotate. She nodded thankfully, glancing up when Ralph approached.

"Hey, are you guys okay? Sorry I haven't been much help... I have no idea why I haven't been able to wreck anything in this place!" He frowned.

"Hey man, it may have something to do with that purple code I found in the wiring earlier. It's on the doors and the windows too when you poke at them a bit. Seems like this phone guy has the whole place recoded." Bobby said.

"That's why we have almost no control over anything here!" He frowned.

"Hello, Ralph?" Felix's voice came from the walkie that Ralph had been keeping in his pocket. "You guys, okay, it's been a long time since we've heard anything..."

Ralph fumbled with the device, answering it. "Uh y- yeah sorry, we had a bit of a scare there but it's okay now." He summarized best he could what Phone Guy had said to them about Vanellope, and also what Springtrap had tried to pull.

"Jiminy jaminy, I'm glad everyone's okay!" Felix exclaimed.

RING RING

Everyone froze in place, breaths held, as the ominous ringing continued. Mike was the closest to it so he answered it, putting it on speaker phone so everyone could listen.

"Hello, hello…" Phone Guy chuckled darkly. "I see you folks aren't playing the game fairly. Using those little ghost brats to protect the one I'm after. Tsk tsk, I'd say that was an unfair advantage."

"Fair?" Ralph almost laughed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "What's fair about ANY of this? And did you think we were going to make this easy for you?"

"Uh-oh, someone's not having any fun!" Phone Guy laughed mockingly before his tone grew sinister again. "So how about we... play a different game?"

"All right, I'm all about fun and games!" Bobby cut in with a fist pump, everyone around him angrily shushing him.

"So am I, Mr. Bobby Dunderson, so am I..." With that, the power went out; the only things able to be seen were the glowing eyes of both Foxy and Mangle.

Jeremy dashed into the other room, trying to fiddle around with the camera and the control panel. "Nothing's working!"

"What the heck are we supposed to do with no power?" Ralph threw his hands up.

"Hey, bromigos! If you guys can escort the Bobster to the power controls, maybe I get this place jumping again!" Bobby said. "In the meantime, these'll come in handy!" He took a few glow sticks out of his pocket, cracking them and tossing one to everyone. "Hey Jer, hope you don't mind a pink one man!"

Jeremy answered him with a cold glare, trying to ignore the fact that Vanellope and BB had gone into a fit of giggles. "And just what the hell is THAT supposed to-"

"Just let it go." Mike chuckled, grabbing the brim of Jeremy's hat to yank down over his face to keep him from starting something.

Ralph pushed Bobby's chair over to the control panel, using the glowsticks' faint illumination to guide him. "Can you fix it?"

Bobby cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms out in front of him. "Well I ain't got a magic fixin' hammer but I bet I can do the trick."

Vanellope noticed that the grey children had a faint glow, surrounding her and BB as they once again formed a circle.

"Ralph?" Calhoun spoke on her walkie. "Ralph, do you read me?"

The wrecker fumbled for his walkie in the dark, clicking it on. "Sorry Sarge, we had another unpleasant visit from Phone Guy, he just completely cut the power!"

"Speaking of the devil..." Calhoun answered, bringing up a 3D diagram on her computer in Hero's Duty. "I think we may have figured out exactly what's going on here, thanks to Surge Protector giving us authorized access to the code grid in the arcade." She clicked a couple things before continuing. "So it seems that there were two separate files of Phone Guy in the last game, but they were linked. So even though we destroyed the first file, that second remaining file seems to have fused his code with the Phone Guy from this game, being they are of similar file type. Being this game is still in maintenence mode, he was able to fuse himself with the file instead of just linking it."

"But won't that mess up the game?" Ralph frowned.

"Of course it will, but that's not all. He's managed to link himself with this Springtrap animatronic and is controlling him, and because the game is in maintenance mode, he's got control of the whole joint. Are you able to get into the code room?" Calhoun asked.

"I can try..." Ralph replied, going over to the code room door. When he tried to get inside, he grunted with frustration. "Man, I can't wreck anything here! This smarts!"

Calhoun sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Then the only way you're getting out of there is if you somehow manage to break that link he has with Springtrap. As long as that link remains, he has control of him, and whatever mechanics are at his disposal."

"And how do you expect us to do that?" Ralph wondered out loud. "It's as if Phone Guy thought of everything before he acted."

"Seems so... listen Wreck-it, we're going to try to find out as much as possible but until that place is no longer sealed off like a tomb, that's all Felix and I can do at this point. Just stay in touch and let me know immediately if you find anything else out." Calhoun said.

Ralph sighed as he headed back to the group, his head hanging low. Foxy asked him if there was any hope, and the wrecker could only shrug.

"Only if we figure out how to kill this guy." He said with a forlorn sigh, feeling at a complete loss. He looked over at Vanellope who was playing with BB, feeling like a failure.

Vanellope pursed her lips, smirking when she threw down a couple cards. "Triple aces!" She giggled, and the ghost children clapped lightly in response, smiling.

"Glad SOMEONE'S having fun." Jeremy groaned, leaning back tiredly against a wall. "Besides the Phone Guy that is."

"Listen, after being King Candy's prisoner and spending night after night by yourself in an unfinished level, I'm thankful that I at least have some friends to be locked up with." Vanellope sighed. "My luck is as good as a rotten candy egg."

The ghost children frowned, each of them patting Vanellope's shoulders gently, as if to communicate that they related to her. BB gave his friend a hug too, understanding how it felt to be treated differently.


	7. Losing Track

Meanwhile, Ralph stood by Bobby as he worked on fixing the power, sticking his tongue out in concentration. "Man, this Phone Guy dude is taking over everything…" Bobby said. "Gotta get all of this junk out of here and then we'll be back in business."

Ralph sighed. "Until he decides to do something ELSE to us."

"What is with this dude, man? He needs to chill on all this grudge stuff." Bobby said as he fiddled around with the wiring and switches.

"He's not a good person, Bobby. I thought that after the whole thing with Turbo, that Vanellope would have a better life… she doesn't deserve this." Ralph said.

"Yeah, she's a pretty sweet kid… get it? Because her game is filled with candy and stuff?" Bobby chuckled lightly.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Ralph looked back at him, annoyed. "I mean, the LAST thing you should be doing is joking around right now!"

"Calm down, Ralph-man… isn't this the BEST time for a joke? Got to break up the tension vibes, bro."

Ralph rolled his eyes, groaning. "Just get the power back on, please…"

Mangle grumbled, rolling her eye as she curled up. This was the last place she wanted to be right now, and Bobby's yakking made her growl in annoyance.

Jeremy rolled his eyes also, adjusting his hat as he sat up against the wall. "Glad I'm not the only one who finds him annoying. About the only people I can tolerate being near are Mike and that Felix guy. Everyone else is either just 'okay' or freakin' irritating as hell."

Mangle clicked a few times, relating that Foxy and the children were the only ones SHE could tolerate for any length of time.

"Well YOU'RE okay I guess, I mean you did save us and all." Jeremy added. She replied back that he was also all right to be around. "I find that hard to believe, most everybody seems to either be trying to get rid of me or ignore me or-" He blinked and slowly turned his head towards Mangle. "No freakin' way, I just... I actually understood you just then!"

Mangle tilted her head and groaned that it was about time, because one-sided conversations were awkward.

"Well sorry, but it's hard to want to understand someone who tried to kill you on a daily basis..." Jeremy sighed.

Mangle's head perked up then, growling when she heard something from further down the dark hallway.

Jeremy followed her gaze, squinting. "Shit, that's not Springtrap you hear, is it? I don't really wanna see him again..."

Mangle crouched down low, growling as she stalked the possible intruder. Jeremy followed her cautiously, figuring he would at least be somewhat better off sticking by her. She stopped when something dashed by quickly in the low light coming from her eye, and she emitted low radio garble. Without warning, something dropped silently onto Jeremy, and he struggled as the phantom Puppet emitted a high pitched ringing, his eyes darting as knocked the young man down. Jeremy lifted his eyes up in a glare only for them to widen again in fear, his pupils shrinking as the inhuman, black-streaked face of the Phantom Puppet peered into his. It was practically touching him, that's how close it was, the only thing in his line of vision being those hollow, black eyes. Several whispers only Jeremy could hear snaked their way into his mind, the guard pressing his hands against his ears to shut it out.

"Not so tough anymore, are you? Think you're better than everyone else? You're not! You're just a pawn in my game, like before, like always! That's all you're good for!"

Jeremy shut his eyes and grit his teeth, trying to block the words. "Leave me alone… you're not real, you're not real…"

Mangle snapped, leaping at the shadowed being to silence it, causing it to dissipate into vapor. She emitted a mechanical whine, pressing her nose against her new friend's shoulder to snap him out of it.

Ralph whirled around when he heard the commotion with Mangle and Jeremy. "Mike! Keep an eye on Bobby here, I'm going to see what's going on." Mike had been sitting closer to Vanellope and the group, nodding and heading over to stand near Bobby. Ralph then turned to Bobby, pointing a finger at him. "Whatever happens, you do NOT stop working on getting the power back up, understand?"

"Aye aye, wreck-it man!" Bobby could barely be seen saluting in the low light of his glow stick.

Ralph bounded down the hall, crouching down as Jeremy's breathing began to stabilize. "Jeremy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Jeremy answered.

"What happened?" Ralph asked. Mangle spewed out some angry garble, Ralph wincing a bit. "What is with these things? Vanellope and BB said they saw something like that too… I'm starting to wonder if this is really part of the game or not…"

"It IS, Ralph." Jeremy sighed. "Mike was telling me earlier that Felix was taking to him about it. They're supposedly some sort of hallucination element to the game. Being Phone Guy now has complete control of this place, he's pretty much using them as his cronies to get us to crack."

Bobby stuck his tongue out, closing one eye as he continued to fiddle around with the fuse box. "Well, it gave me one heck of a time, but I got all this purple wire junk out of here, so now the real magic can begin." Bobby said, cracking his fingers before continuing.

"Good job, Bobby." Mike smiled at the hobo-ish man. "Maybe we can finally get somewhere now." He turned around to make sure Vanellope and the group was still in sight, glancing down the hallway. He was barely able to see them thanks to their glow sticks. "You kids okay?"

"Yep, we're a-okay!" Vanellope smiled, making her fingers twist in the 'okay' sign.

Mike smiled lightly, but furrowed his brow when he heard sudden shuffling behind him. He turned, and before he could react, He was met with the horrid sight of phantom Freddy in his face, gasping as his glow stick clattered to the ground. Bobby ran a hand through his blonde locks as his eyes widened.

"Oh man, oh man! Ralph-man! Come back here, something totally just came after Mike and dragged him away!" He called out for his larger friend, but stayed put as he was told.

"MIKE!" Vanellope cried, and unlike Bobby, she refused to stay put as she jumped to her feet. "We have to go help him!"

The ghost children put their hands to their mouths, all following her. BB tried to keep up, but gasped when he and a couple of the ghost children were separated by phantom Chica, who snatched one of the ghost children and dragged them into the darkness. Vanellope skidded to a stop, unable to see anything except the small space that her glow stick illuminated. She breathed quickly, shaking as she found herself lost. Three of the ghost children floated near her, each of them trembling too.

"Bobby!" Ralph exclaimed as he, Mangle and Jeremy approached him. "What's going on?" Foxy snarled at something then, the group gasping as he was seen fighting with his phantom self; BB was terrified, trembling and covering his eyes. Ralph shook his head in horror, glancing all around him. "Bobby, where is Vanellope?"

Bobby held his hands up. "Look man, I saw her run that way, I don't know-"

"Why didn't you stop her?" Ralph cried, running his hands through his hair, looking in the direction Bobby had pointed. "Vanellope!"

The little girl shuddered as she exhaled, not even realizing that one by one, the remaining three ghost children were snatched up by phantoms from behind her as she searched for Mike. "Okay, just… it's just the dark… the dark can't hurt me… especially with you guys around… right?" Vanellope said as she turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw no one there, looking all around her with her glow stick. "G- Guys?" She whimpered, cowering. "M- Mike! Mike, something happened to the little ghosts! Mike, where are you? Answer me!" She cried, gasping when she heard a sound. She held out her glow light, exhaling deeply when she saw a familiar pair of sneakers.

Bobby flipped one final switch, exhaling when the lights finally came back on. "Man, that was my toughest job yet!"

They all heard a sudden scream from one of the other rooms, and Ralph's heart pounded in his chest as he ran in the direction of the sound.

"Vanellope! Van- there you are!" Ralph exclaimed when he found her. "Hey, are you okay?" He crouched down, the girl's back to him. "Vanellope?" He reached a hand to tap her, tilting his head.

"S… U… G, A, R…"

Ralph furrowed a brow, shaking his head in confusion. "Vanellope, what is the matter with you-"

"Sugar RUUUUUSH!" The little girl shouted, and Ralph recoiled in horror at her appearance. She looked something like the other phantoms they had encountered, her eyes black with white, glowing pinpricks, disheveled, her face covered in stripes of charred blackness. She hissed at him horrifically, the light beginning to flicker over her. It went out for a moment, gradually turning back on, and the phantom was gone in a flash.

RING RING

Before Ralph could even try to understand what happened, the phone rang. He breathed heavily, dashing back into the room where the phone was, picking it up before anyone even made an attempt.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" He screamed in anguish right into the speaker.

"Oh… so you like my new little trick? Took me some time to perfect that… rest assured Ralph, that wasn't the REAL Vanellope… but she'll be looking quite a bit like that once I'm through with her." Phone Guy chuckled.

"Where is she?" Ralph shouted.

"I'm not going to tell you where she is… or Mike… or the ghost children. See, we're going to play a new game, since you apparently didn't like the last one I had… after all, why would you have mister Dunderson over there go through all that trouble getting the power back on? Here are the rules. If you are able to find all the ghost children, I may let Mike and Vanellope out from where I'm hiding them alive… then we go back to playing the prior game in seeing who will be the first to completely lose their marbles and do the job for me. If you wait too long, you can kiss your little brat princess goodbye." The phone clicked.

"Where is she?! TELL ME!" Ralph gripped the phone as tight as he could and smashed it back into its holder; normally everything within a foot-wide radius would've been destroyed, but given that Ralph's wrecking abilities were stripped from him, the phone simply clanged loudly.

"Whoa whoa, calm down, my man, she can't have gone far." Bobby tried to cut in, only to be silenced for once when Ralph delivered the most intense glare he'd ever given.

"Don't tell me to calm down when Vanellope's in that psychopath's clutches!" The wrecker roared, angry tears rolling from his eyes. "I never should've left her alone, I KNEW something would happen!"

BB plopped down on the ground, and despite having a smile permanently affixed to his face, he was far from happy. Foxy emitted a low growl, sympahetic for the boy as he crouched down to pat his back gently.

"Hello? Ralph, you copy? Anyone?" Calhoun's voice suddenly came over the walkie talkie.

Ralph sighed heavily, slowly picking it up and responding, his free hand over his face. "Vanellope's gone. So are Mike and the ghost children."

"WHAT?! How the blue blazes did that happen?!"

"We were attacked by, um..." Ralph shrugged as he tried to think of a word. "I dunno, these hallucinations that Phone Guy conjured up only they were actually able to do some damage."

Calhoun cursed under her breath. "Did you see WHERE Vanellope, Mike, and the ghost children went? You're going to have to find them."

"No kidding, Sarge." Ralph grumbled in annoyance.

"Did phone guy say anything to you? Any hints or- or leads as to where he may have hidden them? It's not a huge place, they can't be far." Calhoun said.

"No, Calhoun... all I know is that we're running out of time here!" Ralph frowned.

Felix was listening to the conversation as he scanned the building's layout. "Uh... Tammy?"

"What is it, short stack?" She answered firmly.

"I um... I think I found something." He pointed to the holographic map, showing five hidden doors. Calhoun's eyes widened, holding the walkie up. "Wreck-it, listen closely."

Bobby stared ahead, bored as he bounced a rubber ball against the wall in the office. He yawned widely, bouncing the ball again when a tile fell from the wall. Bobby blinked, shrugging as he continued. He tossed the ball a few more times when a second tile fell, and his head tilted as he saw something glimmer in the low light.

"Secret doors?" Ralph asked. "But how are we supposed to make them appear then?!" He asked, throwing his hands up.

"Ooh, shiny!" Bobby grinned as he stuck his hand inside the wall, his tongue out in concentration.

"I hope his arm gets ripped off." Jeremy grumbled under his breath.

"Almost got it." Bobby kept saying as he stretched as much as possible.

Ralph rolled his eyes. "Will you quit goofin' around, I'm trying to figure out how... to..." His voice trailed off when Bobby yelled out "Eureka!" And the outline of a door appeared where the tiles had fallen. "Never mind."

"Oh my codes!" Jeremy exclaimed, rushing inside to gaze upon the door. He went for the handle, furrowing a brow when it didn't open. "There's some… weird inscription on the doorknob… it looks like a birthday cake…"

"Move over a second, Jeremy." Ralph said, grunting as he reared his fist back. He tried to punch the door in, but howled in pain as it didn't even budge, glitching a bit as he shook off his hand. "I can't wreck anything in this place!" Ralph exclaimed.

"Hey, I found something over here, man!" Bobby said, having kicked off another tile and picked something out of the wall. It looked like a token, a birthday cake design stamped into it.

"Reminds me of Vanellope's little toy cupcake." Ralph noted as he leaned in for a closer look.

"I was thinkin' more like Chica's cake that she carries around, or well, Toy Chica anyway." Jeremy inputted as he scratched his head under his cap. "The heck's it for though?"

"Oooh maybe we stick it in a party machine and then we get a giant cake and confetti and rad music!" Bobby exclaimed with excitement, all his teeth showing in his grin.

BB tilted his head, moving forward to snatch the coin out of Bobby's hand, going towards the door.

"Hey, what are you doing with that?!" Jeremy exclaimed.

The small animatronic looked up at the door, to the coin, and back up again. He reached his arm up, trying to press the coin against the doorknob. Foxy perked up, seeing what BB was trying to do, taking the coin from him and inserted it into the small slot shaped keyhole. A glow emitted from within it then, and they all widened their eyes when the door opened slowly. BB poked his head in for a few moments before he looked back at the others.

"Hi!" He said with an overjoyed tone.

"What, really?" Ralph said, going closer to the door.

"Is someone in there? Is it Mike and Vanellope?" Jeremy asked as Mangle mumbled curiously.

"No, but, we have a start to something here!" Ralph smiled, opening the door all the way to reveal a ghost child inside. Ralph got on the walkie then. "Sarge, Felix! We found one of the ghost children! Can you tell us where the other doors are?"

Calhoun whipped her head towards the walkie, grabbing it. "Negative, Ralph, they seem to have to be 'unlocked' somehow… but have you located Vanellope and Mike?"

Ralph sighed. "Not yet… but I'm thinking if we have all the ghost children back, they may be able to help. We're going to figure out how to get to the other doors."

The ghost child smiled, holding its small hands out. Bobby smiled widely when in them, were four more gold cake coins.

"Gnarly, bro!" Bobby said when he took them. "We hit the jackpot!"

"Give me those!" Jeremy snatched them from Bobby's hands. "Like we can trust you with these!"

"Hey, I happen to be a VERY trustworthy person." Bobby stated proudly, his chest puffed out for a few seconds before laughing and slapping his knee. "No, really, I am! I promise!"

"I have yet to see proof of it so therefore I nominate myself as keeper of the tokens!" Jeremy growled, pointing at himself for emphasis with the hand that wasn't keeping a tight grip on the cake coins.

"Will you ladies stop quarreling!" Calhoun yelled over the walkie. "It doesn't matter who has them, just don't lose them and find the other doors that they go to!"

"Oh right, are we supposed to just literally rip apart every single wall in this building until we happen across magic doors?" Jeremy asked skeptically. "That'll take forever!"

Foxy and Mangle glanced at each other flatly as the others bickered. Foxy turned around, taking in a puff of air before emitting a fearsome screech, making the others fall silent and stare at him with fright. Ralph blinked, clearing his throat.

"Well said, Foxy." Ralph said, turning to the others. "Okay, here's something we can do. There's four children left, and we have four tokens, which means there's four more doors. We will split up into teams, and-"

"There's only six of us here, that won't work." Jeremy interrupted. "Well, seven with the ghost kid here now."

"Okay, whatever!" Ralph rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is, maybe we can find the doors faster if we all look for one! And don't forget, those phantoms are all out there still… speaking of which, I wonder where they've-"

"Please don't jinx it." Jeremy groaned. "But if we're choosing teams, I'll go with Mangle. She's one of the few in this joint who has any sense!"

BB gently tugged on Foxy's arm, Foxy looking down and patting BB's head. The ghost child looked between Bobby and Ralph, shrugging.

"You go with Bobby, I can handle myself." Ralph smiled, the ghost child beaming back as they fist bumped. "He'll need someone to keep an eye on him anyway."

"Woohoo, hey little ghost dude!" Bobby kneeled down and gave the little ghost a high-five before displaying a confused expression. "Or are you a dudette?"

Jeremy largely rolled his eyes right when Mangle growled that she was grateful that SHE wasn't the one who had to put up with Bobby. "You can say that again." Jeremy muttered in response.

The three teams plus Ralph split the tokens up amongst themselves, all of them uneasily glancing at one another with baited breaths as if waiting for someone to go first.

"Well, good luck, everyone." Ralph finally said with a small smile though his eyes looked worried. "Holler out if something happens."

"Bah, nothing's gonna happen!" Bobby said with a wave of his arm before almost literally skipping off with the ghost child in tow. "Think positive, dude!"

Jeremy refrained from groaning and simply cleared his throat, giving Ralph a two-finger salute before heading off with Mangle. BB stuck close to Foxy, holding his hand that wasn't composed of a hook.

"Hello." BB said quietly, his eyes on the floor in front of his shoes.

"Don't worry, we'll find them." Ralph smiled at him, leaning down to pat his head. "I know you and Vanellope are really close, but she's a strong kid and she'll be fine."

Phone Guy lurked in the shadows, watching the group split up. He growled, scowling angrily. "They think they've got me all figured out, don't they?" He said to himself. "They'll never have a chance to find those other doors… they won't make it out of here if they do."


	8. Searching Ends

"This is still going to take forever, even with us all split up." Jeremy grumbled as he and Mangle found themselves in one of the large party rooms. "Why the hell did Mike have to go get himself kidnapped AGAIN, geez! AND that kid too, it's like she's a magnet for trouble."

Mangle's gears creaked in a scolding way, making the guard wince. "Hey, I DO care what happens to them, thank you very much, it's just..." He sighed then, suddenly looking downtrodden as his shoulders sagged, his eyes closed. "Should've been me."

The white fox animatronic blinked her one eyelid, her head tilting in confusion. She asked what he meant by that, and he only sighed more and pushed his hat over his eyes before leaning his back against the closest wall.

"Don't get me wrong, I can't stand being around too many people, so only having like Mike and now you as actual friends is plenty." He said with a sad smile. "But sometimes I get... I don't know, like I feel like it'd be nice to be one of those guys who had more people in their circle, y'know?"

Mangle whined a bit, knowing how that felt. Her appearance and low self-esteem was what drove her to be the recluse she was today, and she DID prefer her solitude, but she'd readily admit that she got lonely a lot of times.

"Yeah, no one wants to hang out with us grouchy assholes." Jeremy responded to her with a sigh, his arms crossed. "Don't know why I bother attempting hanging out with this lot when I know they don't want me around. Everyone here probably wishes it'd been me that got taken instead of Mike, since he's the nice, friendly go-to guy."

Mangle shoved her nose gently against his elbow, her gears chirping quietly.

"Well, thanks, I'm glad you're glad that I'm still around." The guard replied to her with a sad smile, allowing himself to pat her head gently. "I'm glad you're here too. Never thought I'd say that about any of you animatronics... but yeah, you get it, the whole loner thing and all. I kinda deserve it though; I'm neurotic and grumpy as hell just because I'm jacked up in the head over everything..."

He pressed his hands against his eyes, Mangle asking him what he was talking about. "You know, the whole... well, the killing kids thing... I know Mike's the one who did it, but I helped him get away with it..." Jeremy sighed shakily, not ever having talked about this before. "I try to act like it's nothing, y'know, it's just backstory that we can't help having, but it kinda bothers me a lot more than I let on..."

Mangle didn't really know how to respond to that; it was a difficult subject after all.

"I'm such a jerk, right?" Jeremy asked rhetorically with a sardonic smile. "Blaming everything on Mike earlier like I did like a jackass, and I'm just as much to blame for everything as he is. I swear, it's like I want everyone including my one other friend to hate me, like I needed anyone else hating on me as it is." Jeremy sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve before any actual tears could fall. "And here I am going out to rescue the ghosts of the kids I helped freakin' kill, how ironic can you can get?"

Mangle gently bit the edge of Jeremy's sleeve with her front teeth, one of her claws on his foot. She told him that there wasn't any reason to hate himself over a history that programmers gave him, and that even if it were true that other people might hate him, she was glad to be his friend regardless.

"Thanks." The guard said tearfully as she released his sleeve. He wiped his eyes again and sighed. "Sorry, didn't mean to get all weird. Don't tell anyone any of that. Especially Mike."

Mangle grumbled that she kept secrets very well, one of her extensions waving back and forth a couple times almost like a dog wagging its tail.

Foxy proceeded down the dark hallway with caution, keeping BB close to his side. The child animatronic held the coin to his chest protectively, glancing up at Foxy every once and again for some well needed reassurance. After some time, something caught BB's eye, making him look towards the girl's bathroom.

"Hi." BB said quietly, pointing towards the door.

Foxy squinted his eyes, looking down at BB and shaking his head. They heard shuffling from inside the room, the larger animatronic staying alert as they moved a bit quicker past the room. Not a moment later, the door slammed open, and BB whimpered as something began to limp at a quick pace towards them. Foxy hissed at BB to hide in a nearby corner, hoping he would remain safe as he braced for phantom Freddy's attack. He snarled as he pounced, the phantom snapping its mechanical jaw as the two wrestled to the ground. Foxy made a great effort to fight back, landing several blows to the phantom's head before tearing off its other ear with his sharp teeth, the piece skidding across the floor. He shoved phantom Freddy away, retreating back to try to find BB. He went to the corner where he had left him, grunting softly to get his attention. He tilted his head, hard to see the animatronic boy in the low light. He grunted again, a bit louder when his friend did not turn, his back facing him. When he was less than a foot away, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, only to jump back when he whirled around to reveal that it was phantom BB, hissing in Foxy's face. Foxy stumbled backwards, crying out in distress as he feared not the phantom before him, but as to the whereabouts and condition of the real BB.

Ralph exhaled sharply as he heard Foxy from not far away, moving a bit faster as he struggled to see in the low light. He suddenly heard something, stopping short as he looked around.

"... Ralph..." The voice rattled his ear drums.

"Foxy, where are you?" Ralph called out.

"Ralph... I don't need you anymore... you can't protect me..."

"Hey, Foxy!" Ralph cried, stumbling as the whispering voices followed him. He turned the corner, gasping as phantom Vanellope stood before him, lifting her head slowly.

"I'm as sweet as candy... I'll rot you from inside out." Her voice deepened before letting her head flop to the side, emitting a blood curdling shriek.

Ralph winced at the horrifying sound and raised his large hands up to his ears. "K- Kid, stop it, I'm trying to help you!" He begged her, trying not to look at his best friend's grotesque form.

"You can't help me, Ralphie, you can't help the dead!" The phantom cackled, her mouth opened wider than would be natural and her pupils so dilated that her eyes looked fully black. "But you can still join me... we'll be together forever!"

Ralph grit his teeth, forcing himself to think reasonably. "NO... you're not real, you're not really her!" he yelled angrily before charging right for her.

When the phantom dissipated, Ralph opened his eyes, blinking when he looked down to see BB. He looked around before crouching down a bit. "Hey, why are you alone? Where's-" He squinted his eyes when he believed he saw Foxy in the low light. "Oh, there he is... hey, isn't the point of being a team to stay together?"

"... Hi..." BB said quietly, holding the coin tighter to his chest and staying close to Ralph, closing his eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean that's not-" Ralph jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Foxy behind him. Ralph's eyes widened, not saying a word as the animatronic crouched down to hug BB to him worriedly. Fear began to settle in then. "Uh... Foxy? If you're over here, then what's down... there...?"

BB whimpered a 'hello' as he turned his face, not wanting to look at it anymore. The being that was definitely not Foxy let out a spine-tingling shriek as it rushed towards them, Ralph being able to now see the ragged creature as a phantom. Before he could think to react, it's supernatural force slammed into him before disappearing into thin air, a flash of light blinding him momentarily. Ralph groaned, rubbing his head as he got to his feet.

"How does anyone expect us to find these doors with all of these phantoms ganging up on us?!" Ralph cried.

Meanwhile, Bobby cracked another glow stick, holding it out in front of him. "So, how do we get to these doors, little dude?" He asked, holding the ghost child's hand. He saw a blinking light in one of the rooms, turning to inspect it. "Woah... that's creepy, man..." He said as he approached a computer screen with a frightening image of Chica flashing on it. "Sarge really outdid herself setting this one up!" He laughed. He felt the ghost child tugging on the hem of his shirt, looking down. "Aww, is this too trippy for you? Okay, we'll get back to looking for-" When he turned, phantom Chica stood before them, blocking their way out of the room.

The phantom's white eyes bore into Bobby's as its bloated, black-streaked frame cracked its jaw open, revealing rows of teeth. "Let's eat…" It said in a distorted, yet still female voice. "YOU."

Bobby chuckled nervously, holding his hands up. "Okay, okay, now I know the Bobster is a delicious treat, but I still have a lot of living to do, friend... how about we save that for another day, huh?"

Phantom Chica giggled in dual voices, both a high-pitched girlish one and a low demonic one. "I just wanna little nibble... and then another... and another..."

"C- Come on babe, we barely know each other!" Bobby laughed nervously, clearing his throat as he backed up against the computer desk. As phantom Chica was about to attack, the ghost child yanked Bobby to the side, causing the phantom to slam herself right into the desk.

Bobby gulped as phantom Chica whirled around, hissing as she pursued them. The ghost child eyed Bobby's glow stick, nudging him to hide. Bobby did so, the ghost child attracting the phantom with the glow stick before tossing it, making a quick getaway. It rejoined Bobby, wiping nonexistent sweat from its brow.

"Wow... thanks, little dude. That was some sick moves you did there." Bobby said, smiling. The ghost child smiled back, before noticing something. It gently tugged on Bobby's shirt sleeve, pointing behind him. He turned, jumping a bit when he saw the Foxy prop on the wall. "Woah. Caught me off guard there..." The ghost child floated up, looking through the empty eye socket of the prop, waving Bobby over to come closer. Bobby peered inside, the outline of the keyhole slot glowing dimly. Bobby blinked, taking the coin out of his pocket and the keyhole glowed brighter. "Nice find, little man! Or... woman..." He shrugged, the two taking the Foxy prop off the wall before Bobby put the coin in the slot, and a door appeared, opening slowly. A second ghost child emerged, beaming as the two ghost children silently rejoiced, hugging each other. Bobby smiled warmly, nodding to himself. "Now that, is a sweet moment."

Mangle growled lowly, sensing something close by. Jeremy tensed up and swallowed, his fists clenched and ready to hit whatever might be around the corner waiting for them. He held his breath as he peeked his head beyond the wall and then instantly sighed in relief.

"Oh, man, Mike, you scared the bejeezus outta us!" Jeremy had to laugh, too relieved to get mad at him for unintentionally scaring them. "Mangle, it's just Mike." Mangle whined at him, but the guard was already on his way towards Mike, whose back was turned to them the whole time. "How the heck did you escape without our help, huh?" Jeremy stopped about an arm's length from Mike's back, now sensing that something was a little wrong. "Mike, you okay, man?"

Mike slowly turned around, his inky black eyes piercing straight into Jeremy's, a unnaturally wide smile forcefully stretched across his face. "Hey, Jer Bear, 'bout time you showed up. Time for some real fun." His voice sounded like a mixture of the real Mike's voice plus some garbled machinery clinking. "Whatcha say we ditch these losers and kill us a bunch of kiddies?"

Mangle growled and prepared to attack the phantom in order to protect Jeremy, only she was suddenly slammed sideways by a phantom version of herself. The two of them went at it, the phantom Mangle consistently preventing the real one from helping her friend.

"M- Mike?" Jeremy stuttered, all the color draining from his face as he stepped back away from who he thought was Mike. "Y- You sure you're okay?"

"Oh I'm dandy as candy…" The phantom Mike chuckled darkly as black blood poured from his eyes and down his face, resembling tears almost. "Just need an extra hand, that's all. You'll help me, right?"

Jeremy's head began to throb, wanting desperately to shut his eyes as he watched Mike slowly transform into the phantom Puppet. His body became more stretched out and elongated, his facial features melting into those of the Puppet's. "No... no, I- I'm not doing that... I can't, not again!"

"It's all you're good for, you little shit!" The phantom Puppet hissed harshly at him. "You think you can do the right thing now and save these kids? It's too late for you, you're damned!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Jeremy begged as he finally tore his eyes away from the Puppet's, tears going down his face.

Mangle finally managed to defeat the phantom of herself, her one good eye narrowing at the phantom Puppet.

"The only reason you exist is to OBEY ME!" It kept taunting the frightened guard. "Without me, you wouldn't even HAVE a backstory, you worthless, spineless, little-"

Mangle let out her most ferocious roar as she flung herself at the phantom, her jaws snapping down over its head in order to silence it. Jeremy fell to his knees, his hands still covering his ears as he rocked back and forth. She clicked her gears a few times as she headed towards him, one of her arms going to pat his head as she tried to get him to calm down. Without warning, Jeremy reached his arms around her muzzle and let his head rest between her eye sockets while he let himself cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Jeremy kept saying, not talking to anyone in particular. "I never wanted to hurt anyone, I'm sorry..."

Mangle stayed silent, a little surprised that he'd hugged her, but she was okay with it. She patted him on the back until he calmed down enough to pull away, sitting down on the floor and wiping his eyes. She gently said that she had tried to tell him earlier that it wasn't really Mike that he'd seen, but he hadn't listened to her.

"I know, I'm sorry…" Jeremy muttered again as his breathing grew back to normal. "I know he wouldn't really say any of that stuff to me either, but..." He shook his head, trying to forget all the things the phantom had said to him. "Dammit, I just want to find everyone and get the hell outta here."

Ralph gasped as he heard commotion from a corridor further down. "That sounded like Jeremy!" He exclaimed. Foxy growled lowly towards its direction, about to head down there when they saw a glow stick through the low light.

"Hey, wrecker man!" Bobby shouted, smiling. "Look at what the Bob-o-matic found!"

BB blinked as he saw two ghost children approach. "Hello?" He looked from them to Foxy.

"Bobby, how did you... where did you find the other one?" Ralph asked.

"Well, this one creepy chick was hitting on me pretty hard, so we ran, and this little guy or girl totally saved my butt. We found the keyhole thingie behind the Foxy prop." Bobby said.

"Huh... so you're telling me that we have to comb this entire place?" Ralph asked.

"Nah man, just use this!" Bobby said as he pointed to the coin in Ralph's hand. "The keyhole thingie glows when you get close to enough... it was a beautiful sight, my man."

Ralph nodded, glancing behind him. "Alright... alright, listen. Bobby, you take those two ghost kids to the office and STAY THERE. I'm gonna go with Foxy and BB to see if Jeremy and Mangle need help."

"You got it, mister rocket!" Bobby said, saluting him as he turned to head towards the office with the two ghost children.

"You okay?" Ralph asked him and Mangle worriedly as he approached. Jeremy's eyes were red and puffy as if he'd been crying, but Ralph knew better than to comment on it, as surprising as it was that Jeremy COULD cry. "I thought I heard-"

"We're fine, just some freakin' boogey-ghosts comin' out to play." Jeremy interrupted him with one of his signature eye rolls, though he didn't seem quite as into it as he usually was. "Nothing special happened."

Foxy asked Mangle if they had found a door yet, and she grumbled back that they hadn't.

"Bobby found another one." Ralph said in order to catch the other two up to speed.

"He destroyed ANOTHER wall?" Jeremy asked with a raise of his brow.

"No, he said you just have to watch for the token slot to light up." The wrecker explained. "Apparently they light up when a token gets near them. He said the other one was hiding behind a prop of Foxy's head."

For once, a semblance of hope ignited in the remaining security guard. "Then what are we standing around yakking for? That's the easiest task ever, let's get to it!"

As they searched for the three remaining doors, Bobby reclined in the desk chair in the office, the ghost children floating around near him. "Don't worry kids, soon all your friends'll be here and then we can bust out of this joint! We are so gonna party hard after this..." Just then, the children stopped, having heard something. They floated closer together, making Bobby tilt his head. "Hey, what's wrong, little ghosties?"

"I can tell you what's wrong, mister Dunderson." A voice answered, and the young blonde stood up from the recliner as he saw Springtrap approach.

Bobby ushered the ghost children behind him as he tilted his head. "Hey man... you sound like that dude on the phone..."

"You would be correct, mister Dunderson. And you sound like a lot more trouble than you're worth. You've gotten in my way once too many times. You have no idea what you waltzed yourself into... but don't worry, I'm about to eliminate you as an obstacle." Phone Guy said as he neared through Springtrap. Bobby backed up a bit, furrowing his brows a bit.

"Come on man, just... whatever you want to do, leave the kids alone, okay? They're cute, y'know? Can't we just chill and talk this over like a couple of cool-"

Bobby grunted as he was shoved against the wall by Springtrap. "There will be no more 'chilling' for you, mister Dunderson."

The ghost children backed up against the other wall, frightened as the shadow of Springtrap holding Bobby against the wall was cast upon them. Their eyes widened as Bobby yelled at them to run before he cried out painfully, fleeing when Springtrap fell limply to the floor.

The others were alerted to the children dashing down the hallway, and Ralph's hair stood on end. "Where's Bobby? Did something happen?" They all nodded simultaneously, prompting everyone to run to the office. "Bobby, Bobby, where are you?"

"He isn't here..." Jeremy grit his teeth. "Can't depend on that idiot for anything."

Foxy then nudged Ralph, walking over to crouch down over the motionless Springtrap. Ralph furrowed a brow, shaking his head. "I don't get it. Did Bobby figure out how to shut this thing down?" Ralph asked.

"That doesn't matter now, what matters is finding the other ghost kids, Mike and Vanellope and high tailing out of here!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"I am NOT leaving Bobby here in this game!" Ralph snapped back. "We'll just have to find the other ghost children without him and then hopefully he'll turn up along with Mike and Vanellope!"

"That arrogant moron shouldn't have been here in the first place! He's probably playing some stupid game like he always does because he can't take ANYTHING seriously!" Jeremy shouted.

As they were arguing, BB's eyes widened as he slowly waddled out into the hallway, holding his coin out as a keyhole slot appeared near some children's drawings on the wall. He placed the coin inside, taking a couple steps back as the door opened to reveal a third ghost child. BB tilted his head a bit as the child emerged.

"Hello." BB said happily.

The ghost child smiled, the other two noticing as they floated over quickly, the three hugging. The two then silently updated the third with what had transpired, the third covering their mouth in shock.

Foxy noticed that BB had disappeared and he quickly ran out into the hallway, only to stop and blink when he saw a third ghost child. He waved for them all to come back to the office for now until the adults could figure out what to do next.

"Okay, no more arguing." Ralph ended things with a swipe of his hand. "Let's just finish finding everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE." He aimed a small glare at Jeremy before he could even think to roll his eyes.

"Fine." Jeremy replied. "Well, looks like BB found kid number three... that means two left. I think we should just stay together now that we have an idea of what to do."

"Probably a good idea, otherwise we might disappear and have the same fate as the others." Ralph agreed.

Foxy nodded, turning to exit the office only to accidentally stub his toe on the box of leftover pizzeria memorabilia that was included with the game. He grumbled and kicked the box out of his way in frustration, only to realize he had accidentally uncovered another glowing token slot.

"Well that was easy." Jeremy shrugged as he knelt down to insert the coin he'd been holding. Another door appeared and the fourth missing ghost child was reunited with the others. "Four down, one to go."

The four children hugged one another, the fourth child gently tugging on Ralph's shirt and pointing to the previously sealed off room. The child took hold of one of Ralph's fingers, stopping when they entered. Ralph held up the coin, looking to see a faint glow behind a newspaper clipping on the wall. Ralph tore it off, stuffing it into his pocket before spotting the keyhole, putting the coin in and releasing the fifth child. He smiled with relief, crouching down. "Hey." Ralph gently patted the ghost child's head. "Alright… it's time to get Mike and Vanellope back…" He said as he stood up, walking out of the room and looking around. "Okay Phone Guy, we found the ghost children! We had a deal!"

The ghost children turned, a bit alarmed as they hovered around the arcade gamed in the small room. One of the ghost children, the one who had started off with Bobby earlier, held up a glow stick, smiling as they held it up to one of the screens. BB noticed a hand press against the screen from inside then, jumping back a bit.

"Hi!" BB exclaimed.

"What?!"Ralph's eyes widened as he whirled around. "They're IN there?"

"What do you mean they're IN there?" Jeremy demanded to know, rushing to the aforementioned screen and gripping the sides of the cabinet. He could just make out Mike behind the screen, who was shouting something but could not be heard. "How do we get them OUT?"

Ralph headed to the other game and Vanellope could barely be seen, her image almost ghostly as she pounded at the screen from the inside. "Don't worry, kid, we're going to get you out!" He attempted ripping the machine apart, to no avail. Vanellope winced from the shaking he was doing to the device, making motions with her hands to stop doing that.

The five ghost children gathered in a huddle, silently convening for several moments before taking a step back, holding hands. The first child pressed their hand against the screen, all of them beginning to glow as the hand went through, reaching inside. One by one, they entered in a line connected by their clasped hands, disappearing behind the screen. A few moments later, they began to emerge, again one by one, until at the end, Vanellope, followed by Mike, emerged and set their feet on the floor.

"HI!" BB instantly ran over to Vanellope, the two children hugging each other tightly. Ralph scooped them both up in his arms, the two of them giggling as they shared a group hug.

"Miss me, Stinkbrain?" The little girl grinned impishly, though deep down she had been absolutely terrified throughout her ordeal and was more than happy to be back with her friends.

"Don't even joke." Ralph sighed with a relieved smile. "Mike, you okay? Not hurt, are you?"

"Nah, I'm good," Mike smiled back at him. "Not a scratch on me."

"Thank codes, you're all right." Jeremy started. "You have any idea how worried sick I was about..." He stopped and cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest and looking off to the side. "I- I mean, I knew you were fine. About time you guys showed up, we could've busted out of here sooner if not for you two."

Mike rolled his eyes playfully. "I missed you too, Jer."

"Can we PLEASE try to get outta here now?" Vanellope said from her spot on Ralph's shoulder.

"We can't until we find Bobby." The wrecker explained to her. "He got taken not too long before we found you two."

"Taken? What do you mean- Ralph!" Vanellope exclaimed, hopping out of his arms. "Bobby, you little dare devil you, scaring everybody! Come on, aren't you gonna give me and Mike a hug or are you just going to stand there all day?"

The two ghost children that had last seen Bobby panicked, taking Vanellope's arms and pulled her back. They barely managed to pull her out of harm's way when Springtrap was hurled into the room, not moving a muscle once it landed. Before anyone could speak, telephone wires snaked down from the walls, shooting out to keep Ralph, Foxy, Mangle, BB and Jeremy bound. They were still able to see into the room, but Ralph gasped as Bobby emerged from the darkness, making his way towards the room where Mike, Vanellope and the children were.

"Well, you can thank me later for cutting your search short." Dual voices spoke; Bobby's... and Phone Guy's. "I got really tired of playing these silly games, because mister Dunderson here was making it awfully hard for me to win. See, he's so deep in this mindset that problems will just work itself out, to chill, go with the flow... so that's what I'm going to foster in his honor. You all can sit back, relax and enjoy watching the life leave their eyes... as well as mentally scar those persistent and annoying little brats!"


	9. Crushing Lives

"NO, leave them alone!" Ralph growled as he fought the wires that snared him. Doing so only forced the wires to tighten their grip, digging painfully into his skin. Foxy and Mangle both tried to chew through their own wires, while BB and Jeremy were only able to attempt wiggling free.

The ghost children quickly huddled around Vanellope, about to link hands to form a protection circle around her. Phone Guy however saw this, his eyes darting towards them in a crazed fashion.

"Oh I don't think so!" He snarled at them as he summoned the phantoms to come scatter them about. "You think you could all win against me? Look at you all! Pathetic! Weak! No better than those children, no harder to manipulate than the one that killed them!" Phone Guy sneered at Mike, chuckling. "As well as the one he bribed into assisting him." He looked around, holding his arms out. "And no easier to control than this brainless moron Dunderson here! Because that's what I do, I CONTROL things. I controlled my fate in my back story, and I will control what happens OUTSIDE of game play too. And I assure you, NONE of you will make it out when I'm through with you." He turned then, staring darkly at Vanellope. "And the little princess will be the first to go."

Mike stood between Phone Guy and Vanellope, shaking his head. "Stay away from her." He said lowly.

"Oh, don't worry Mike, we'll get to you in just a minute." He said, Phone Guy grabbing Mike's throat and shoving him aside. He cornered Vanellope, trying to glitch away. Not having the patience, he stormed over to Mike. "Little girl, if you don't stay still, I may end up killing Mike now instead of later. So unless you want to stay put, you'll stand right where you are!"

Vanellope whimpered, her feet planted on the ground. "No Vanellope, run!" Mike shouted before Phone Guy proceeded to strangle him. Vanellope glitched over to him to try and help, but Phone Guy quickly snatched her up.

"This will be very sweet... revenge always is." He grinned.

Meanwhile, the ghost children decided that enough was enough. From the very inception of this game series, they had been the victims. From the very inception of this game series, and of their dealings with the rogue Phone Guy outside of game play, they had also been the victims, and they had been trying to fight against the wrong people. They decided it was time to stop running, and to help their friends, help themselves. One by one, the ghost children concentrated, forming a protective barrier around themselves. When each phantom dove in to attack them, they were blown away, the secret doors opening in the walls and shutting each phantom inside. When each door slammed shut, a coin bounced and clattered onto the floor, locking the phantoms in. The children looked around, finding each other and then silently communicating that it was time to end this night of terror once and for all.

Phone Guy was about to leave the sealed room when to his surprise, the ghost children reappeared, looking quite angry.

"Get out of my way, you little-" Phone Guy growled, gasping when he realized the children had formed a protective barrier, preventing him from getting out. One of the children started to float closer to him, making him angrier. "Get away from me! Where are my phantoms?"

"Looks like you've lost control of things, Phone Guy." Mike said, shakily getting to his feet. "Give it up, and let Bobby go."

"You think I've lost control? I'll show you control!" Phone Guy snapped, ripping a joystick out of one of the arcade machines, about to stab Vanellope with it.

"No! NO!" Mike screamed.

As Phone Guy was about to come down upon Vanellope, he felt his hand being restrained, whipping his head around. His eyes widened when a worn, golden colored hand held his wrist, its head slowly rising to look at him.

Springtrap.

"Let go of me you trash heap-" Phone Guy shouted as Springtrap grabbed hold of him, Vanellope taking the ghost child's hand and backing up to stand by Mike. Springtrap held Phone Guy by Bobby's shirt collar, staring eerily into his eyes.

"... you made me hurt them." He whispered, sending chills. "... now I'm going to hurt you."

Mike stared on with horror as he covered Vanellope and the ghost child's eyes, Springtrap shoving Bobby into himself. Phone Guy cried out, trying to stop the mechanism inside from crushing him to death. He emitted an ear-piercing wail, Springtrap's form falling to the ground as the body inside twitched, spasmed and glitched horrible and grotesque shades of purple. Soon, the room was silent, Springtrap releasing the body from inside him as he stood.

The phone wires that had been restraining the others then relaxed their hold, snaking back into the ceiling and walls from whence they came. Everyone slowly made their way towards where Mike and Vanellope were, unable to comprehend what had happened.

"Okay, back up." Jeremy insisted, his hand outstretched towards Springtrap. "Why the heck is he a good guy now?"

"Maybe he always was one." Ralph said. "He did say that Phone Guy made him do all that stuff."

"BOBBY!" Vanellope screamed, shaking the young blonde as his skin returned to its normal shade, no longer purple, and the eerie glow left his eyes. It now reflected the vivid blue, but lacked the life and the light that was typically seen in them, glazed over. "Ralph!" Vanellope cried as she looked up at him. "He's not moving!"

Ralph kneeled down beside Bobby, shaking him with one hand gently. "Hey, Bobby, quit kiddin' around! Danger's gone, wake up, time to leave!"

Bobby however stayed lifeless, flopping about like a ragdoll at the shaking that Ralph was doing to him. Everyone else exchanged sad glances with each other. Even Jeremy, whose hatred for the hobo was no secret, appeared shaken up that Phone Guy had managed to claim a victim after all.

Vanellope began to tear up, looking at Ralph. "It can't be game over for him, Ralph... we have to do something..."

"Ralph? Ralph, do you read me? Ralph!" Calhoun shouted from the walkie. Ralph looked on sadly, everyone's expressions reflecting his. He slowly took out the walkie, clicking it on.

"I'm here, sarge." He replied monotonously.

"What is the situation? Have you made any progress?" She asked.

Everyone gasped lightly when they heard the front door click, creaking as it slowly fanned open. They should have been overjoyed... but they all turned back to look at Bobby, grief overshadowing their happiness. "We found the ghost kids, Vanellope and Mike... and Phone Guy is dead."

"What, you got him? How is this possible? What's happening now?" Felix asked as he grabbed the walkie from Calhoun.

"Seems like this Springtrap guy isn't so bad after all. He crushed Phone Guy to bits." Ralph said solemnly.

Calhoun grabbed the walkie back, shooting Felix a look. "Is everyone alright? Are you able to get out?"

Ralph paused, staring at Bobby somberly. "We're able to get out now, sarge."

"... Ralph... you didn't answer my first question." She glanced at Felix uneasily for a moment. "Ralph, are there any casualties?" She put the walkie on private mode so only she could hear. She blinked in surprise, before actually feeling pretty awful. "Affirmative... he fought honorably. We'll give him a soldier's farewell." She slowly placed the walkie back on her belt, sitting down.

"Tammy? Tammy, what happened?" Felix asked, furrowing his brows.

Calhoun glanced up at him slowly. "Dunderson tried to protect those ghost kids." She replied. "He's dead."

BB hugged Vanellope as she sniffled, Mike glancing over at Jeremy. "He may have been a little over the top at times... but I never would have wished this on him. He was a good guy. He never hurt anyone."

Jeremy didn't answer at first; Mike may not have ever wished harm on Bobby, but Jeremy certainly had. Combined with everything that had happened over the course of their being trapped here, he suddenly felt extremely sick to his stomach. What was wrong with him, he had to be some kind of... monster... like Phone Guy... to wish harm on people like this.

"You all right?" Mike's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Jeremy's face revealed a haunted expression before he pulled his hat down on over his face, his other hand on his queasy stomach.

"Y- Yeah, I just... I'll be right back," he spat out quickly before hurrying past everyone, steering clear of Bobby's corpse.

The ghost child that Bobby had been teamed up with floated up to him, slowly producing his glow stick. It was quite dim now, the other children floating up to look curiously. The first child looked at all of them, patting Bobby's arm before looking around at them. The children looked at each other with a bit of surprise, shrugging and blinking a bit. The first child stood a bit straighter, their expression becoming more determined as it waved its hand to tell the others to form a circle. The other children listened, and Vanellope glanced over, sitting up a bit.

"Hey... what are you guys doing?" She asked. She listened intently, her eyes widening as she ran out into the hallway where Ralph, Mangle and Foxy were speaking to Springtrap.

"Sorry..." Springtrap said in a whisper, hanging his head. "Had to kill Purple Man... made me hurt everyone. Sorry for other guy..."

Ralph sighed. "I understand... look, let's just get everyone out of here, and we'll sort things out with you when-"

"Ralph!" Vanellope shouted, jumping in front of him. "The ghost kids are going to try to bring Bobby back to life!"

"Vanellope, that's not going to work... if you die outside your game, it's game over, there's no coming back." Ralph said sadly.

"But Ralph, they're trying to now!" She exclaimed.

Mike blinked at his friend's behavior; he knew he'd had a hard time being cooped up in this game, but it was still a shock to see the usually stand-offish Jeremy displaying emotion like that. Mangle whined and patted Mike's leg, saying maybe Mike should go talk to him. She kept her promise to Jeremy and didn't mention anything they had talked about in private earlier.

"I guess I should." Mike sighed, excusing himself from the mourning group.

He figured Jeremy would head for the men's restroom if he were feeling sick and wanted to be alone. He opened the entrance door and heard what was undeniably coughing and gagging combined with some quiet crying. Mike knew he was walking into a hornet's nest at infringing upon what was meant to be a private moment, hoping he didn't get stung too badly at making his presence known. Mike quietly entered the restroom, bypassing the urinals and moseying over to where the stalls were located. It didn't take long to find the one Jeremy was crouched inside, clinging to the sides of the toilet while he hung his head over it. For once, his cap wasn't on his head for it had fallen onto the floor beside him.

"Go away." Jeremy croaked out tearfully, not bothering to turn around. "Just stay away from me."

"Jer, it's just me, okay?" Mike assured him, thinking he might be more at ease knowing it was just the two of them. "What's going on, buddy? I can't believe you got that upset over Bobby, you didn't even like him that much."

"That's just it." Jeremy said quietly, yet shakily. "I... I wanted him to get hurt, Mike, I couldn't stand him, b- but I didn't..." He swallowed hard to keep from throwing up again, pushing the image of Bobby's lifeless body out of his head. "I didn't w- want anyone to... to d- die..."

Mike exhaled a sigh. "I know you didn't. Look, we all think and say and do things that are stupid sometimes. Just because you got frustrated and wished harm on Bobby doesn't mean you killed him. None of us could've known that was gonna happen."

"No, but..." Jeremy bit the inside of his cheek to force himself to calm down more. "I'm still a terrible person, Mike. At least YOU were only bad in our backstory, you wouldn't hurt a fly now, but me... I'm as bad as Phone Guy..."

Mike blinked at that, crouching down and furrowing a brow before reaching out to grab Jeremy's shoulder and spin him around. Jeremy normally would've protested anyone touching him, but he sat there with his back against the toilet giving Mike the most perplexed of expressions.

"You are NOT as bad as Phone Guy!" Mike told him in a very serious voice, both his hands planted on Jeremy's shoulders while he glared at him worriedly. "He was a manipulative, abusive control freak who messed with everyone's minds like it was a sick hobby of his! You're nothing like that!"

Jeremy tore his teary eyes away from Mike's, every bit of him tense yet he made no move to bolt out of his current predicament. "But I... I... Mike, how can you even say that, I'm the world's biggest jerk..."

"Okay, so you're a little difficult and testy sometimes, that's not the same thing as being a psychopath who hurts people for fun!" Mike relaxed his grip on Jeremy's shoulders, his expression softening a bit. "Look, if you're that worried about it, just... I don't know, try to lighten up a bit around everyone. I know you don't really like being around a lot of people, but at least try to act civil."

"Why bother?" Jeremy asked softly, taking his cap in his hands and fiddling with the brim of it shyly. "Nobody really wants me around..."

"That's not true... you just don't see it because you're convinced everyone hates you." Mike smiled lightly, prying Jeremy's cap away from him so he could put it on his head where it belonged. "And for the record, I don't hate you. I might feel like slapping you upside the head sometimes, but you're still my friend."

Jeremy managed a small smile. "Thanks... you're my friend too. Sorry I don't really treat you like one sometimes..." He blinked a couple times and some color returned to his face when Mike suddenly hugged him, his eyes darting around to make sure no one else had crept into the bathroom and was seeing this. "What the hell are you-"

"You just looked like you needed a hug, that's all." Mike smiled.

Jeremy had never been hugged before, unlike Mike who got hugs from Vanellope and the other kids all the time. It was surprisingly kind of nice, not that he was going to say that out loud of course. "Okay, but don't tell anyone." Jeremy mumbled as he awkwardly returned it for a grand total of five seconds. "Now get off me."

"Sorry, I know you're not mushy." Mike chuckled as he stood up, his knees creaking from having crouched so long. "Let's get out of here, whattya say? Gotta go celebrate us two surviving the whole series after all."

Jeremy rolled his eyes though he smiled when he did it as opposed to being a smart-aleck about it. "That's one party I wouldn't mind going to." He said as he grabbed Mike's outstretched hand to help him up off the floor.

Just as they were about to get up, Vanellope's voice could be heard nearing them. "Mike! Mike, where are you?" She appeared in the doorway then, beaming. "You have to come see this!"


	10. Restoring Hopes

Mike and Jeremy looked at each other, following the girl and joining the others who were staring into the small room with awe. The children had formed a circle around Bobby, glowing lightly as the one child held the glow stick. Its dim light was becoming brighter, the first child concentrating on it with deep focus. Soon, the glow stick was brightly illuminated, a single bright flash pulsating from it before all dimmed again. The first child blinked, looking from the glow stick to Bobby as it bent down to shake him gently. The child took his hand, ushering the other ones to come over. They all went over to his arms, trying to lift Bobby up. Everyone gasped when they heard a sound, glancing at each other with excitement.

"Bobby?" Vanellope ran over to him, beaming when she saw the young man moving as the children helped him up. "You're alive!"

Bobby blinked his eyes, groaning as he cracked his back a bit. "Man... how hard did I party last night...?"

"There was no party! You've been here with us! Purple Guy took over your code and you died!" Vanellope exclaimed.

Bobby hesitated for a moment as everything began to come back to him, his eyes widening. "Woah..." He looked at his hands. "I had a game over...?" He looked around. "We must totally be in video game heaven, you guys! I heard it's nothing but parties all the time here!" He beamed.

"No, no Bobby, the-... the ghost kids they... how in the heck did you do that?" Ralph exclaimed. "You brought him back!"

"Dude... you little ghost dudes and dudettes gave me a new life?" He smiled, his expression softening. "That is totally awesome... I owe you guys one..." He opened his arms. "Bring it in, hugs from the Bobster all around!" He laughed, the children hugging Bobby in a little group hug.

"Oh thank codes..." Jeremy sighed in relief, rubbing his face a bit. At least he could go to sleep with a clear conscience later.

Mike patted the newly revived Bobby on the back. "Y'know, this actually WOULD be a good reason to have a party." He chuckled. "We defeated Phone Guy once and for all, AND we're all alive!"

"Yay, a party!" Vanellope cheered, bouncing up and down along with the little ghost children, who were all linking hands with her and BB. "We could all use a little pick-me-up after all this!"

Ralph smiled. "Well what are we sticking around here for? Let's high tail out of here before anything else-"

"WARNING. WARNING. DUE TO FILE CORRUPTION, GAME WILL BE INITIATING SHUT DOWN IN T-MINUS FIVE MINUTES. ALL RESIDENTS PLEASE EXIT THE GAME IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID PROGRAM TERMINATION."

The celebration was cut short, replaced by another moment of panic.

"SERIOUSLY?" Jeremy screamed at the ceiling.

"The upgrade must've failed!" Ralph quickly scanned the room, deciding the best way to escape. Mangle would definitely need help as she didn't move quite as fast as the others. "Okay, here's the plan. Mike, you carry Vanellope and BB. Jeremy, you and Bobby divide the ghost kids amongst you. Foxy and I will help Mangle get out."

Jeremy didn't need to be told twice, snatching three of the ghost children up in his arms and making a beeline for the exit. The remaining ghost children hopped on top of Bobby before he took off. Vanellope glitched on top of Ralph's shoulder.

"Mike can't carry both of us." She explained with a shrug.

Ralph didn't argue with her, letting her stay there while he and Foxy gathered Mangle up in their arms and ran out after Mike, who was carrying BB with both arms. Mike and BB were the first to get out, Ralph, Mangle and Foxy following about a minute after. Jeremy was just ahead of Bobby, when he heard a huge crash behind him. The young man whirled around, his eyes widening when he saw that a heavy display shelf had crashed on Springtrap, pinning him down and he was unable to get up. Bobby bit his lip, glancing at the ghost children who stared at him worriedly. He forced a smile then, trying to push away his worry. "Hey kids, I'm gonna use my incredible strength to help our friend out, okay? You two awesome ghosties go out and wait with our friends." He set them down, ushering them to go. The two ghost children looked at each other worriedly, but knew that Bobby would only insist upon them to go.

Springtrap groaned, reaching a hand out as bobby ran up to him. "Leave… Springtrap…"

"Nah man, a friend's gotta help a friend out!" Bobby said, grunting as he tried to lift the heavy shelf off of the animatronic. "D- Don't worry man, I'll get this if I just concentrate hard enough!"

Outside, Calhoun, Felix and Surge Protector headed to the outside of Five Nights at Freddy's 3 where most of the group had convened. "Ralph, thank codes you're out of there, the game is going to-"

"I know, we all got the warning." Ralph sighed.

"Well, that's good to know…" Calhoun said. "Nothing to do but wait for this accursed game to disappear now."

Meanwhile, Bobby inhaled sharply as he tried once again to lift the shelf. "Just give it… another minute… I'm not gonna leave you here man, don't worry…" He bit his lip. "… then we can teach you how to really party!"

Springtrap stared up at him, tilting his head sadly. "Springtrap hurt you… to kill Phone Guy… but you… help Springtrap… you have… good heart."

Jeremy had his hands on his knees, panting a bit from his run. He saw everyone had made it out except Bobby, remembering then that he had turned around to go back. The countdown could still be heard faintly from the tunnel; there was no way Bobby could make it out in time unless he had help.

"Damn it!" He growled, clenching his fists. Without even knowing fully WHY he was doing it, he ran back into the game, everyone shouting protests at him. "That idiot is NOT dying a second time, not if I have anything to say about it!" Jeremy finally found him not too far into the exit, blinking at what he saw. "You have to be kidding me." He muttered, rushing over to help Bobby with Springtrap. "Hurry up before all three of us die!"

Bobby smiled as sweat poured from his brow. "Hey, awesome of you to come back here man!" The two of them struggled, but with Jeremy's help, they were finally able to lift the shelf off of Springtrap. They helped the animatronic up and moved as fast as they could towards the exit. A few seconds after they exited the tunnel, the game inside became nothing more than a black void. Bobby plopped down on the ground, gasping for air as he chuckled tiredly. "Wow, bros... that was close!" He glanced over at Jeremy, grunting a bit as he got to his feet. "You saved my honey buns, my bromigo!" He went over, hugging Jeremy without warning. "You are one wickedly sweet dude. I'm gonna make you the official numero uno on my party list, and you KNOW that list goes on and on man!"

Jeremy cringed at the gesture, mostly because of WHO it was from. "Uh... sure, no problem…" He said through his teeth as he gently wormed his way out of Bobby's crushing arms. "Not promising I'll show up to all the parties though... and please don't hug me ever again."

"Aww come on, Jer, you know you like hugs." Mike beamed at him playfully, earning a horrified expression from Jeremy.

Calhoun and Felix sighed with relief. "Jiminy jaminy, I'm so glad you're all okay!" Felix exclaimed.

Foxy rubbed his chin with his claw, grumbling his thoughts out loud.

"Oh man, I didn't think of that!" Ralph said, putting a hand to his forehead. "I forgot about how this game was being upgraded to be in the same cabinet as the second game."

Jeremy's face paled and his eyes got huge. "What are you saying? Holy codes, are you saying MY game got terminated too?" He looked utterly frazzled at the thought, being that he considered his own game a safe haven of sorts. Mangle didn't seem too happy about the idea of losing her home either, whining a little to herself. "But my stuff's in there! A-and I don't want to be homeless! I'll have to sleep on a BENCH! People sit on these things, you know, who knows where all they've been before they sat there!"

Bobby laughed as if this was no big deal. "Hey, being homeless is crazy fun, bromigo! You can sleep wherever you want, make new friends every day, party all the time!" He threw a friendly arm around Jeremy, who looked like he was about to hyperventilate from panic. "Plus you can hang with me twenty-four-seven!"

Calhoun rolled her eyes, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Will you clam up, Fitzgerald? I actually prefer you being a sour puss compared to this. I'm sure the termination is because your game, the original one belonging to this cabinet, rejected the programming for the new one. "

"We can always check later." Felix added with a friendly smile. "If it's not there, you can always live in East Niceland, as well as all the animatronics of course." He glanced at Springtrap, gulping a bit but maintaining a smile. "Um, HIM included..."

"Hey, maybe you can live in my castle! Mike and BB live there, I can get ya a room in the upper floors so it's quieter. And you guys can live there too! Plenty of room to spare!" Vanellope beamed as she motioned to the ghost children.

The children clapped happily in response, beaming as they floated over to the candy princess, joining together in a group hug.

"That's all great and wonderful, just please submit your change of residence forms within the next three days while I seal up this terminal..." Surge Protector sighed as he jotted down notes on his clipboard.

"How can we even be talking about this? Shouldn't we be concerned that anyone got left behind? Shouldn't we be talking about what the heck happened in there with Phone Guy and making a report?" Calhoun asked.

"Relax, captain!" Bobby chimed as he nudged her shoulder. "We're all cool here, everyone got out, we're all in one piece, so let's end the party killin' and get to the sweet chillin'..."

"Yeah, I've had enough of being serious for one day." Ralph had to agree, yawning lightly. "Honestly, I'd prefer to sleep for about twelve hours, but if you guys wanna party, I'm up for that too."

Mangle noticed Jeremy was looking at the game's entrance forlornly, so she dragged herself over to him and garbled at him that their home was probably gone because not even the little transportation train that took them into the game was gone. The lights that normally would brighten up the inside of the terminal were also blown, showing nothing but thick blackness.

"I guess it IS gone." Jeremy sighed, patting Mangle on the head when she raised it up. "Probably for the best though... I can't believe we're gonna live in some technicolor, J-Pop game though. THAT'S gonna take some getting used to."

"Let's just hope there isn't a fourth game in the future to worry about." Felix chuckled nervously when everyone shot him a warning glare. "W- Well there COULD be one!"

Mike rested his hand over his eyes. "Please, don't jinx it."

Later that evening, Mike, Vanellope, Ralph and Jeremy were sitting in GCS with a snack. "Do you think Purple Guy is really gone?" Vanellope asked.

"For codes sake, I hope so. Good riddance to him." Jeremy replied.

"Yeah, he can stay obliterated forever like Turbo." Ralph agreed as he munched carefully on some popcorn.

"Too bad not everybody got a chance to see our haunted house though…" Vanellope frowned a bit, looking down at her feet. "I'd wanted the whole arcade to see that the animatronics weren't all that bad."

"Hey, we still had a pretty decent crowd show up." Mike said to cheer her up.

"Yeah, and if people want to keep thinking that they're all evil, then they aren't worth wasting time on anyway." Jeremy added before sipping on his drink.

"You know, you kinda used to be one of those people…" Ralph pointed out.

"What, a guy can't change his mind?" Jeremy shrugged in slight annoyance. "And I never really thought they were all that bad anyway, I mean I slept in the same building as most of them every night."

"At any rate, I'm just glad it's over." Mike sighed to himself. "Hopefully the series creator won't make another game, and that Mr. Litwak doesn't buy it if they do make another one."

Vanellope thought she saw something within the empty terminal then, blinking. "Hey Ralph, can you put my candy in your pocket for a sec?" She said, hopping off the bench. Ralph rolled his eye, stuffing them in his overalls as she ran towards the terminal. She glanced around, a single low light flickering a bit. She looked down, noticing something sitting on the ground. "Hey..." she went over, crouching down to inspect it. "Looks like Freddy's hat."

The three adults exchanged glances before getting up and following her.

"Don't touch it, you might activate a booby trap!" Jeremy warned her, staying the farthest away from it.

"Yeah, get away from there, kid." Ralph said to her nervously. "I think we've had enough excitement for one day."

Vanellope sighed. "Yeah, you're right... you can give me my candy back then." She said, glitching onto Ralph's shoulder and sticking her hand out.

Ralph rolled his eyes. "Yes, your highness." He said, digging into his pocket.

"Of all the things that could be sitting here, all my stuff, it's Freddy's stupid hat?" Jeremy groaned.

"Hey, what's this?" Ralph asked, handing Vanellope her candy and then pulling out a crumpled piece of paper.

"How should I know? It was in your pocket." Jeremy replied.

"It looks like an article... Ralph, you must have grabbed this from inside the game, it looks like the article that shows up at the end." Mike remarked.

Ralph unfolded it, holding it up so all of them could get a better look. "'It Burns!' Huh, probably for the best... literally." He said.

"Guess that's the best proof we got that this is all over." Vanellope stated. "I hope this means I won't have any more nightmares."

"I'm sure you won't." Mike smiled at her, rubbing the top of her head to make her giggle.

Just then, footsteps were heard as the group turned, seeing BB approaching with Foxy and Springtrap. BB went up to Vanellope as she hopped off of Ralph's shoulder, stopping about a foot from her.

"Hello." BB said.

"Really? Awesome!" Vanellope beamed. "Hey, BB said that Bobby's got everything almost set up for the party!"

"I still need to work on my animatronic communication skills…" Jeremy said.

"Oh, BB also said that Bobby's been teaching Springtrap some dance moves!" Vanellope said. In response, Springtrap began to do the robot, moving his arms and torso stiffly. Everyone chuckled a bit, and Springtrap was certainly happy to be fitting in well with the group despite his rough introduction.

"Well, what are we waiting around here for? Let's go meet everyone else at the penthouse and get our 'groove' on!" Mike exclaimed.

"Oh for the love of codes, please don't use phrases like that, you sound just LIKE Bobby." Jeremy whined.

"What's the matter, Jeremy? Afraid that you'll slowly turn into a party animal like him?" Mike laughed.

"Stop. It." Jeremy said through clenched teeth.

"Come on, you slow pokes!" Vanellope shouted, prompting them both to move a bit faster.

As they all made their way towards Fix-it-Felix Jr., they left a thick silence behind in GCS, an eerie breeze cooling the air within the dark, empty terminal where all three of the Five Nights at Freddy games had been, as well as the horrors experienced by the group of characters within them. Through all the terror, the nightmares, and the suffering however, friendships had been forged, hard truths learned had led to forgiveness, and justice had been served. In the end, the group's dedication to one another had won the day, and though they had once again vectored against the evil within the eatery, they hoped it would be the last time they were forced to do so.

In the opening to the terminal, the lone hat of Freddy sat perfectly still, a dim, flickering light just over it, as if it were the last fleeting moments this legend had to be in what was left of its spotlight. The wrinkled newspaper article rested just behind it, nonchalantly tossed aside by Ralph just earlier. In the photo that was to be shown upon game's completion, of one looked closely enough, they could see a faint image of Springtrap in the background behind the pictured restaurant artifact.

Though none of them knew if any future games for the haunted series would come, they all knew that whatever the future would bring for them to face, they would stand strong through the night, and hope for the swift arrival of daybreak to dispel the evil within the darkness.

* * *

Litwak laughed as he placed his hands on his hips. "Well, for losing that Freddy's cabinet this week, these kids sure are piling in! Sugar Rush is really garnering some attention!"

"Hey, is it really true about the secret level?"

"I wanna see! I nabbed this quarter from my brother!"

"Woah, check this out, triple points!"

"I heard the bonus level has all new music too!"

Children chattered as they gathered around the Sugar Rush and Fix-it-Felix cabinets. Inside, Vanellope beamed as the current player helped her to soar past the finish line, winning first place.

"Now starting the bonus level!" The game announced. "Beat the brand new team the Ghost Goobers, and you'll win a brand new trophy!"

Vanellope turned back, flashing a smile. "Hey, are you ready for another round?"

In five brand new race cars, each of the ghost children put on their helmets, smiling excitedly as they clapped their hands. After the game counted down the clock, the six cars sped off through the bonus level. For the first time in their existence, the ghost children had never remembered having so much fun.

As they sped by, Bobby bobbed his head to the beat of his sound system, having built it himself and mixed his own music just for the bonus level. He reclined as he watched the racers on the big screen, sighing contently. "Music, party, and a show… life is good for Bobby Dunderson." He said as he put sunglasses on, sipping a drink from a straw.

In the stands, Mike and Jeremy sat together to watch the race.

"See? It's not so bad here, is it?" Mike asked, nudging Jeremy gently. "I mean, you can pretty much eat everything is around you, and you can watch all these different races every day."

Some candy fans yelled out at that moment, making Jeremy wince a bit. He still wasn't big on large crowds, especially if they were loud.

"Yeah, it's more fun than I thought it'd be. I do miss home sometimes though." He had to admit. "Then again, I'd rather have you and Mangle around. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

Mike heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes up to the cotton candy clouds while he was pretending to think, a playful smile on his face. "Oh, you'd probably be shut up somewhere by yourself griping about how everyone hates you and how lonely you are and reorganizing your stuff for the millionth time and-"

Jeremy shoved against his shoulder to hush him up. "Okay, okay, point taken!" He huffed lightly, ignoring Mike's chuckling.

"C'mon, don't get mad!" Mike slapped Jeremy's cap over his face. "I'm just messin'."

"I know, I know…" Jeremy mumbled while straightening his cap up, watching the race karts fly by their stand in the meantime. He sighed and leaned back on the empty row of seats behind him, stretching his arms out on them in a relaxed pose, his legs crossed at the ankles. "Can I tell you something?"

Mike's "inner Vanellope" begged him to say "I don't know, can you?" But given the serious tone that Jeremy was using, Mike figured he better not joke around. So he said "sure" instead.

"You know those nightmares you and Vanellope used to have?" Jeremy asked him quietly, even though they were the only two people sitting in their specific area so nobody could very well hear them anyway. "I never said anything, but I used to have some too." He paused before adding, "Kinda still do sometimes, actually."

Mike blinked, straightening up in his seat. "About... what?"

"About... y'know, about... killing those kids..." Jeremy cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. "Sometimes you'd be there, sometimes it was the Puppet instead, but no matter what I tried to do, I always helped kill them. Sometimes it'd be about Phone Guy and he'd make me kill you or one of the others against my will. I sometimes still have one where I'm running around in this dark foggy place, and even if I scream loud as I can, I can't find anyone... like everyone abandoned me..."

Mike blew his breath out, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his thighs, his hands together as if in thought. "I'm sorry I did that to you. I really am. I wish I could rewrite our backstory sometimes and leave you out of it, but then you probably wouldn't exist, so scratch that idea. And you're not by yourself, okay? You got me, Mangle, Vanellope, Ralph, heck, even Bobby."

Jeremy rolled his eyes a bit upon hearing Bobby's name, rubbing his face tiredly. "Yeah... hey, I always wondered something. Why the hell did you always want to hang out with me? I mean, you were always trying to drag me off to do stuff, even when I was in one of my worse moods. I would've just given up if I'd been you."

A smile grew on Mike's face and he leaned back in his chair. "I dunno, I guess I thought it'd be nice to be buddies with the one other human from my own series. And I kinda had this weird thought in my head that you wanted to be friends anyway and were just being ridiculously challenging about it. Also, you just seemed lonely and I kinda felt sorry for you."

"Wow, thanks, you befriended me because you pitied me."

"Hey, you apparently didn't mind too much because you DID let me drag you around places." Mike pointed out, reaching out to grab Jeremy's shoulder to shake it playfully. "It was like I'd accomplished something important every time you agreed to come along somewhere."

"Nice to know I'm such an ego boost. And fine, you got me, I kinda did want friends anyway, so I guess it was worth getting dragged into shenanigans." Jeremy smirked a bit, wiping Mike's hand off his shoulder. "Got a couple best friends out of the deal anyway."

"Wow, I earned the title of best friend, I'm so touched." Mike put his hand on his heart and gave him puppy-dog eyes.

Jeremy rolled his eyes playfully, the smirk having transformed into a more genuine smile. "Yeah, that's such a thing to be proud of, being MY best friend."

"Hey, it is." Mike said more sincerely. "And you're one of mine too. And no, I'm not just saying that to be nice. I mean it."

Jeremy gave him one of his rare, shy smiles. "Thanks."

The Sugar Rush race announcer blared out the winners of the last race for the day which was followed by an ear-shattering yell from the crowd. Jeremy put his hands to his ears until it was over, and the candy fans all streamlined out of the stands to go celebrate the end of another long day at the arcade.

Mike got up to stretch his arms out, nudging Jeremy's leg with his foot. "Wanna go grab a root beer at Tapper's? Ralph and Felix should be along there soon enough."

"Sure, why not," Jeremy shrugged, getting up also.

Mike grinned impishly, suddenly snatching Jeremy's hat off his head and tearing out of the stands quick as lightning. "First one to the Sugar Rush exit keeps the hat!" he laughed heartily as he took off running.

"MIKE SCHMIDT, YOU GIVE THAT BACK!" Jeremy screamed at the top of his lungs, leaping over a few candy fans' heads and bulldozing past some other ones. "I can always change my mind about the best friend thing!"

"Best friends are obligated to do stuff like this, it's a privilege!"

"MIIIIIKE!"


End file.
